Explore the historic highlights of Bergen
Bergen, Norway
14th century
Bergen, Norway
c. 1181
Bergen, Norway
1870
Bergen, Norway
1130s
Bergen, Norway
1066-1093
Bergen, Norway
1240s
Bergen, Norway
12th century
Bergen, Norway
1825
Bergen, Norway
1181
Bergen, Norway
1891-1894
Bergen, Norway
1621
Bergen, Norway
1666-1667
Bergen, Norway
1150
Bergen, Norway
1720
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.