En un regard
Le château en bref
Gravelines Castle guards the mouth of the Aa river in northern France. In 1528, Charles V ordered the construction of a castle and fortifications to protect the frontier of the County of Flanders; artillery casemates were built in 1528 and 1536. After Gravelines was annexed by France, Vauban converted it into an arsenal and, in 1693, had a bread oven built to supply the garrison in the event of a siege. The powder magazine, destroyed by an explosion in 1654, was rebuilt in 1742. The brick fortress, set on a sandstone plinth and laid out on a quadrilateral plan, is reached by a drawbridge flanked by two U-shaped towers and contains about ten buildings as well as underground rooms, including the Salle du Pilier. The former powder magazine now houses the Musée du Dessin et de l'Estampe Originale (Museum of Original Drawing and Printmaking), and the courtyard has been laid out as a French-style garden open to the public, alongside the Scène Vauban.