In the center of Bordeaux there is an old fortress called the Fort du Hâ, also known as the Château du Hâ or, as Vauban called it, the “Chasteau du Haa”.
This fortress was originally built starting in 1454 at the end of the Hundred Years’ War to keep the city under control, since it had just been re-captured from the English. The French King at the time, Charles VII, was not at all convinced that the population of Bordeaux was on his side.
Vauban stopped here in 1680 on his endless journey around the borders of France as Louis XIV’s Commissioner General of Fortifications. He had a look at the fortress and wrote a memorandum suggesting various improvements.
Fort du Hâ & Palace of Justice
Fort du Hâ & Palace of Justice
The remains of the Fort du Hâ are now joined to a modern extension of the Palace of Justice, built in 1998 by the architect Richard Rogers.
Tram at Fort du Hâ
One of the new 21st century tram lines (line A) runs right past Fort du Hâ and the Palace of Justice.
Location, aerial view and photo of Fort du Hâ on monumentum.fr.
My photos in this post are from 2014. I revised the text in 2019.
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Sébastien Le Prestre, marquis de Vauban.
I remember Vauban from your VT pages 🙂 I like the linking of old building and new.