Citadelle de Montpellier Bastion de VentadourA

The Citadel of Montpellier is an Early Modern

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

in the city of Montpellier, in the

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.rebellions under the orders of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

in order to keep watch over the town. In the 20th century it became the Joffre Barracks, named after

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroupi ...

, and since 1947 the citadel has been an academic campus – the nationwide famous Lycée Joffre.

History

Military history

In 1621, King Louis XIII arrived with soldiers to quell a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

rebellion; he took over the city after an eight-month siege. The king ordered that a royal citadel close to the city be constructed to control the city and the surrounding region, where there was a large Huguenot population. The citadel was built between 1624 and 1627 between the fortifications of the ''Écusson'', or old town, and the coastal plain of the River Lez. It was separated from the city proper by a wide

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

, looking over the floodplain of the Lez. It comprised four bastions organized in a square: facing the city was the ''Bastion du Roi'' ("King's Bastion") to the northwest and the ''Bastion de la Reine'' ("Queen's Bastion") to the southwest; facing the floodplain was the ''Bastion de Montmorency'' to the northeast and the ''Bastion de Ventadour'' to the southeast. The buildings within the citadel have been reconstructed multiple times. The last reconstruction before the citadel was converted into an educational building was in 1863. Under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

, the citadel held royal troops as well as detachments of conscripted forces from Bas-Languedoc. Later, it became a barracks of the 2nd regiment of Génie.

Scholarly history

During the 19th century, it became clear that the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

for young men in Montpellier was too small: having been built near the esplanade in 1804 in the same place as a former Jesuit school, by the later part of the century, the high school and its students were dispersed throughout two other sites north of the old town. In 1947 city authorities decided to move the high school into the citadel, which had since become the Joffre Barracks. The first classes were held there on 1 October 1948, and the last students were moved in during October 1959. Since then, the buildings have been adapted to present-day life and new buildings for classrooms have been added. The powder magazine of the ''Bastion de Montmorency'' has been converted into an olympic pool and large gymnasium, and the nearby fields into athletic fields. The academic campus, constituted of the

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, high school and '' classes préparatoires'', occupies 15 hectares.

Remains still intact

Of the original citadel, the following vestiges remain: * The two southern bastions (''la Bastion de la Reine'' and ''la Bastion de Ventadour'') and the wall linking them have been preserved. There is a palm grove planted at the base of the wall; the two bastions and the wall face the ''Allée Henri II de Montmorency '' ("Alley of Henry II of Montmorency") and the district of

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

. * On the west side there remains the ''Bastion du Roi'', which has been broken in multiple places to allow for construction of automobile access roads and pedestrian footpaths between the northern parking lot and the center of Montpellier. The walls and their

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

s are still visible. A railway coming from the

Gare de Montpellier Saint-Roch Saint-Roch is the main railway station in Montpellier, France. The station was formerly known as Gare de Montpellier, but since March 2005 it has been named after Saint Roch, a native of the city who was born in the 14th century. Saint-Roch is on ...

crosses the base of the old wall in a tunnel. * At the north, the ''Bastion de Montmorency'' is visible, standing over a parking lot and the adjoining Board of Education buildings. It currently serves as the gymnasium of the Lycée Joffre.

Gallery

Image:Citadelle de Montpellier entree lycee joffre.jpg, The entrance to the Lycée Joffre, in 2004 Image:Carte postale Entree caserne Joffre.jpg, The entry to the Joffre Barracks, in 1914 Image:Citadelle de Montpellier Meurtrieres interieures.jpg, Embrasures, seen from inside the citadel Image:Citadelle de Montpellier meurtrieres coin bastion reine.jpg, Embrasures, seen from outside the citadel Image:Citadelle de Montpellier Mur sud.jpg, Southern wall, along the ''Allée Henri II de Montmorency''

References

* Louis Secondy, ''Histoire du lycée de Montpellier. De l'ancien collège des jésuites à la Citadelle (1630–1988)'', éd. les Presses du Languedoc, 1988. Discusses the transformation of the military location to accommodate the prestigious school.

External links

Official website of the Lycée Joffre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montpellier, Citadel of Châteaux in Hérault Education in France Fortifications in France Buildings and structures in Montpellier