• The town of Briançon
• Briançon & Vauban network
• Activities in the Briançon area

Briançon and the Vauban network

Famous for its fortifications built by Vauban in the 18th century, Briançon is among the Vauban fortified sites placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Major Vauban Sites Network

Along with 11 other sites, Briançon belongs to the major Vauban Sites network, which has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since July 7, 2008.

Sébastien Le Prestre, or Marshall Vauban, designed a fortification project for the town in 1692, under the order of King Louis XIV. The work did not start until 1713, six years after Vauban's death.

The Briançon Fortresses

On his very first visit to Briançon in 1692, Vauban imagined a fortress placed above the Old Town: The Salettes Fort was finished in 1712. Marshall Vauban also insisted on the necessity of a fortress on the mountain that dominates the Fontenil valley, because of its strategic position: the construction work on the Fort des Têtes was started in 1721. It was not until 1731 that the Asfeld Bridge provided the link between the Fort des Têtes and the Old Town, spanning across the Durance gorge.