Saint-Tropez Towers, Saint-Tropez, France

As a result of being a coastal town and needing to protect itself from attack, St Tropez became well-fortified early on in its history. You can now visit three towers scattered across the city's coastline.

Originally, four towers were built to protect the coast and the port: Tour du Portalet, Tour la Vieille, Tour de Suffren, now lost, and the Tour Jarlier.

The Tour du Portalet and the Tour la Vieille, or Old Tower, look right out over the sea and are situated on either side of a cove called La Glaye, watching the entrance to the town from the Mediterranean. These two towers date from the 15th century and are situated in the historical fishermen quarter of La Ponche.

The last tower, and the most central one, is to be found on Rue Jarlier. This structure, built a little later than the others, dates from the 16th century. It confers a tranquillity and charm upon a street which is of considerable architectural interest.

The Tour Suffren bore the name of the ancient lords of Saint Tropez. Even if the tower is now lost, you can see the castle which they turned into their family home in the 18th century, in Saint Tropez's main square. It cannot be visited, but you can see its imposing stone exterior.

References:

See Saint-Tropez

Castles and fortifications in France

User Reviews

Big Boss (3 years ago)
Beautiful harbor in Saint Tropez

Videoturysta EU (3 years ago)
An interesting tower. You can visit it walking by the marina streets.

Melissa Hiesmayr (3 years ago)
Really beautiful spot for taking pictures

Patricia Francisco (3 years ago)
Enjoy the lovely view of Saint Tropez without too much people. The place wasn't crowded when we went there this April afternoon.

Jan Smith (4 years ago)
This is the best side of town, away from all the crowds, yachts, and shops. Go past the tower and around the waterfront for some nice places to put your toes in the water.

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German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword began construction of the Cēsis castle (Wenden) near the hill fort in 1209. When the castle was enlarged and fortified, it served as the residence for the Order's Master from 1237 till 1561, with periodic interruptions. Its ruins are some of the most majestic castle ruins in the Baltic states. Once the most important castle of the Livonian Order, it was the official residence for the masters of the order.

In 1577, during the Livonian War, the garrison destroyed the castle to prevent it from falling into the control of Ivan the Terrible, who was decisively defeated in the Battle of Wenden (1578).

In 1598 it was incorporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Wenden Voivodship was created here. In 1620 Wenden was conquered by Sweden. It was rebuilt afterwards, but was destroyed again in 1703 during the Great Northern War by the Russian army and left in a ruined state. Already from the end of the 16th century, the premises of the Order's castle were adjusted to the requirements of the Cēsis Castle estate. When in 1777 the Cēsis Castle estate was obtained by Count Carl Sievers, he had his new residence house built on the site of the eastern block of the castle, joining its end wall with the fortification tower.

Since 1949, the Cēsis History Museum has been located in this New Castle of the Cēsis Castle estate. The front yard of the New Castle is enclosed by a granary and a stable-coach house, which now houses the Exhibition Hall of the Museum. Beside the granary there is the oldest brewery in Latvia, Cēsu alus darītava, which was built in 1878 during the later Count Sievers' time, but its origins date back to the period of the Livonian Order. Further on, the Cēsis Castle park is situated, which was laid out in 1812. The park has the romantic characteristic of that time, with its winding footpaths, exotic plants, and the waters of the pond reflecting the castle's ruins. Nowadays also one of the towers is open for tourists.

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