Explore the historic highlights of Bern
Bern, Switzerland
12th century
Bern, Switzerland
1421
Bern, Switzerland
c. 1218
Bern, Switzerland
1902
Bern, Switzerland
13th century
Bern, Switzerland
1341
Bern, Switzerland
1894
Bern, Switzerland
c. 1250
Bern, Switzerland
13th century
Bern, Switzerland
1st century BCE
Bern, Switzerland
13th century
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.