Urkulu Roman Tower

Orbaizeta, France

Urkulu (1,419 m) is a mountain in the Basque Country straddling the border between France and Spain. The main feature of the mountain is the remains of a Roman tower topping the summit,  erected in the 1st century BC. to commemorate the recent conquest of Aquitaine.

With the summit providing excellent views over the northern and southern slopes alike, it was used as a watchtower in medieval times.

The tower has a truncated-conical shape, measures 19.5 meters in diameter at the base and is 3.6 meters high. Its original height should have been 4.5 meters. The thickness of the walls is 2.6 meters and its interior is filled with the remains of the original stonework.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Orbaizeta, France
See all sites in Orbaizeta

Details

Founded: 1st century BCE
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in France
Historical period: Roman Gaul (France)

More Information

second.wiki

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Hyper Stef (2 years ago)
Great! Magic Moment with wild horses and 360° view!
Sander Zwaenepoel (3 years ago)
Great view
Valentin Toma (4 years ago)
Good 30 min hike, probably in a better type of weather day is even more spectacular. You can drive all the way to the start of the small hike.
Ian Huang (5 years ago)
Beautiful trek!
Sylvie cihigoyenetche (6 years ago)
Amazing landscape and close to France and Spain simply beautiful
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Goryokaku Fortress

Goryōkaku (五稜郭) (literally, 'five-point fort') is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo.

Goryōkaku was designed in 1855 by Takeda Ayasaburō and Jules Brunet. Their plans was based on the work of the French architect Vauban. The fortress was completed in 1866, two years before the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It is shaped like a five-pointed star. This allowed for greater numbers of gun emplacements on its walls than a traditional Japanese fortress, and reduced the number of blind spots where a cannon could not fire.

The fort was built by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the Tsugaru Strait against a possible invasion by the Meiji government.

Goryōkaku is famous as the site of the last battle of the Boshin War.