Fort Libéria

The Fort Liberia (on Catalan Fort Liberia ) is an impressive fortress above the small French town of Villefranche-de-Conflent , at the northern edge of the Pyrenees . The fort is directly connected to the city via a unique underground corridor, the "Souterrain des" 1000 Marches "" (basement of the "1000 steps").

Prehistory / starting position

View from the fort, far into the valley to the south, towards Corneilla de Conflent

With the conclusion of the Treaty of the Pyrenees Peace in 1659, the border between Spain and France was redefined. Catalonia is divided, the southern part falls to Spain, the northern part to France. Due to its geographical location, the garrison town of Villefranche-de-Conflent is of even greater strategic importance for the defense of the Conflent .

The city itself had been fortified stronger and better since its foundation in the 11th century. However, the more modern the weapons became, the less these walls were sufficient. The famous fortress builder Vauban therefore suggested building a new fortress on the mountainside above the city.

From up there, newcomers could be seen from afar, regardless of which of the three valleys they came from. Enemies could not appear surprisingly at the gates of Villefranche-de-Conflent. In addition, attackers from the fort could be fought "from above" with cannons at a greater distance. This would make an attack on the city itself much more difficult. However, this idea initially failed due to the high costs.

17th and 18th centuries

In the end, Vauban's concept was so convincing that he was commissioned to build the fort in 1681. Six years later, the fort could be put into operation.

Building the fortress

Fort Libéria on the slope of Belloc

Due to its location on the steep flank of the Belloc, the fort was practically invulnerable from three sides. Only from "above" was there any danger. But Vauban also had solutions for this: On the one hand, the fortress walls on the mountain side converged to form a pointed triangle so that projectiles should better ricochet off them. There were numerous cannon loopholes in the walls in order to be able to fire attackers.

On the other hand, a huge weir ditch (fossé) was built on the mountain side for "close defense".

A battlement with loopholes was built into the mountain , which can be reached through underground passages from the fort. So that the soldiers in the battlements were not poisoned by their own gunpowder smoke, small “chimneys” were built above the loopholes. The powder vapor could escape through this.

The battlement is divided into lockable sectors and accessible from two sides from the fort. So even if an enemy had succeeded in penetrating the battlements, they would not get any further there and could be fought effectively at the same time.

Through this “upstream” battlement, attackers in the moat could be fought from all sides. This made the fort practically impregnable from the mountain side.

General plan of the fort

Also due to the hillside location, the fort was built on three different levels (see general plan): On the top level of the fort ( level 3 ) a barracks was built for the NCOs. This level was also the most dangerous: if fired from above, this area could be hit.

Below the barracks is the dungeon that served as a women's prison. A total of eight women were detained there over time. The best known were the poisoner “La Chapelain” ( poison affair at the court of Louis XIV ) and her helper Anne Guesdon, who died in this dungeon after 36 years. Madeleine Chapelain herself had to wait 44 years for her death in 1724.

In order to be self-sufficient, a bakery was installed on the ground floor of the NCO barracks. The water supply was ensured by a spring discovered during construction. However, this spring was outside the fortress and there was therefore a risk that the water supply could be interrupted or poisoned by saboteurs. For this reason , a water catchment was also built on the middle level ( level 2 ) in which the rainwater could be collected from the gutters. Before the water got from there into the underground, 70,000 liter cistern , it was passed through a filter system made of gravel, sand and charcoal. This multi-stage filter was so effective that drinking water quality was achieved.

On this second level, Vauban also built the large team barracks, which offered space for around 100 men. The above-mentioned cistern was located under this barracks. To protect against enemy missiles from the mountain side, a large, thick separating wall was built between levels 1 and 2.

Parapet with the original iron railing that is over 300 years old

Officers' quarters were built on the lowest level ( level 1 ) of the fort, but this no longer exists today.

In order not only to be independent of worldly things, a chapel and a crypt were also built on this level. Below this level there was another, 50,000 liter cistern, which served as an overflow for the large cistern on the second level. In total, 120,000 liters of water could be “bunkered” in the fortress.

The main component of the fortress walls is the pink marble of the Belloc limestone massif. The bricks come directly from the mountain on the slope of which the fort stands. The stones are held together by mortar consisting of one third slaked lime and two thirds sand.

The entire parapet (as a circular path) and the associated staircases are secured on the inside of the fortress with iron railings. For this purpose, iron ore was forged from the Canigou using the "Catalan method". This ore had a reputation for being easy to forge and showing little rust. In fact, today - after more than three centuries of exposure to wind and weather and never having been painted - the iron is in astonishingly good condition.

Armament

Cannon with a range of about 4 km

The fort had two 12-pound *, two 8-pound * and six 4-pound * cannons (* weight of the cannonball). Each gun was equipped with 200 rounds of ammunition. The range of these cannons was about 4 km. In order to mount the cannons on their mounts, there was an extra crane in the fort.

The fire was fired from large loopholes, which were closed with wooden gates when not in use.

The parapet running on top of the walls, which leads around the entire fortress, is equipped with numerous small loopholes. Through this the soldiers could also fire their rifles. To increase the firepower, around 36 fixed, large-caliber muskets ( wall rifles ) were used.

Around 6 tons of gunpowder were stored in the powder chamber. There was also enough ammunition (bullets and shot) for the weapons. Last but not least, an extensive supply of pitch / tar could not be missing.

19th century

Underground corridor with 734 steps

1850-1856 Napoléon III. Massively reinforce the fort. Vauban had made the mistake of building the fort too close over town. This created blind spots between the city and the fort that could not be seen from below or above. To correct this mistake, an additional porch (l'avancée) and the "Souterrain des" 1000 Marches "" (basement of the "1000 steps") were built at the bottom of the fort. This is an underground corridor that connects the city, which is 180 m below, with the fort via 734 steps. Although these are not a thousand steps as the name suggests, it still corresponds to about 42 floors! The construction of this underground passage took 3 years (1850-1853).

Small, fortified platforms were built outwards from the corridor in several places, so that the section between the city and the fort could now also be overlooked and effectively defended.

During this construction phase, the entrance to the fort was moved to the northeast and secured with a round tower. This protected the entrance against fire from the Plateau d'Ambulla to the south.

In 1890 the French army gave up Villefranche-de-Conflent as a garrison town - and with it the fort.

20th century until today

In 1918 the last detachment of the French army leaves the fort.

During the First World War, the fort was once again used as a “prison” for 12 German officers who were housed in the former crew barracks.

In 1927 the community saw no use in the fort and sold it to the entrepreneur Julien Laurens from Algiers. In honor of the city, which was originally called "Villa Liberia" (free city), he baptized the fort on its current name "Fort Libéria". The small church tower (clocheton) of the chapel was built in 1930 as a Romanesque "architectural copy". This makes it the youngest building in the fortress.

During the Second World War, from 1940 to 1944, the fort was briefly used again by the army: it served reservists as an air surveillance base.

On June 22, 1957, the fort was bought back by Marcel Puy. On June 21, 1984, he leased it to four merchant couples from Villefranche-de-Conflent with a 99-year heritable building right. The fort was restored for around three years, provided with the necessary infrastructure and security precautions, and opened to the public on July 9, 1987.

Today the fort has become an important tourist attraction in Villefranche-de-Conflent. The structure can be visited all year round.

The fort, along with other fortifications throughout France, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site " Fortifications of Vauban " since 2008 .

Transport links

The fort can be reached from Villefranche-de-Conflent in three different ways:

Through the basement of the "1000 Marches", where you can climb the 180 m difference in height over the 734 steps;
via a relatively steep footpath that winds up the mountain;
or - most conveniently - with the Navette (4x4 shuttle bus) that runs regularly between the town and the fort.

You arrive at Villefranche-de-Conflent

by car via the N116, about 50 km from Perpignan , on the way between Perpignan and Andorra .
By public transport: From Perpignan with the Petit Train to Villefranche-de-Conflent.