Explore the historic highlights of Quebec City
Quebec City, Canada
1608
Quebec City, Canada
1893
Quebec City, Canada
1687-1723
Quebec City, Canada
1800-1804
Quebec City, Canada
1647
Quebec City, Canada
1896
Quebec City, Canada
1620-1759
Quebec City, Canada
1639
Quebec City, Canada
1693
Quebec City, Canada
1535
The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.
The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.