Fortifications de la ville : Citadelle et remparts

English translation

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History

Port-Louis consists of a citadel and a fortified town. It was Louis XIII who had the old citadel of Blavet, which had been destroyed, rebuilt and developed the town which was renamed Port-Louis. The citadel was completed between 1616 and 1622. At the foot of the rampart a number of underground rooms are installed (wine stores, etc.). In 1636, Richelieu had a half-moon constructed at the extremity of the main port, completed by Charles de la Meilleraye in 1643. The urban fortification was built between 1649 and 1653. Few changes occurred between the 17th and 19th centuries, a period during which important transformations were carried out on part of the ramparts and bastions (including, amongst others, the establishment in 1850 of an access ramp which connected the Pointe gate to the cannon square). Located facing the tower of Nesmond, the great powder magazine was built in 1750-1752, according to the plans of engineer Félix-François Le Royer de la Sauvagère, by Jacques Robinet, known as Bourbonnais, entrepreneur of the royal fortifications, and his associate Gallen. François Gourier du Rocher executed the decorative motif placed on the south entrance gable: the arms of the Duchess of Mazarin, which were scraped away in 1792. This rectangular building in dressed granite stone is contained within an enclosure; its covering vault presents a barrel vault built in bricks. It preserved all the powders of the surrounding forts as well as those of the vessels making port calls at Port-Louis; its storage capacity was 120,000 pounds. It is an interesting testimony to this type of buildings erected in the 18th century