La cité d'Aigues-Mortes

Description

In the 13th century, Saint Louis had the city of Aigues-Mortes built on the wetlands of the Camargue. The keep, known as the 'Tour de Constance', and the 1,634 metres of ramparts flanked by twenty towers were completed in less than fifty years; the fortifications protected the town, built on the regular plan of the bastides. Aigues-Mortes enjoyed only a brief period of prosperity. It fell into decline in the 14th century as a result of the silting up of the canals and port, and competition from the port city of Marseille. With the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, throughout the Ancien Régime, the Tour de Constance became the largest Protestant prison in the kingdom. Today, the city of Aigues-Mortes is one of the finest and best-preserved examples of medieval military architecture in France.