Perpignan City Walls

En un regard

Le château en bref

The city walls of Perpignan are the ensemble of military structures encircling and protecting the city of Perpignan, from the medieval period until their dismantling at the beginning of the 20th century. During the Middle Ages, the city of Perpignan protected itself behind thick ramparts. From the Renaissance onwards, the city, which had become the object of Franco-Spanish struggles, scarcely ceased to modernise them. In line with advances in artillery, new works were built, and older ones were removed or adapted with such consistency that by the end of the 19th century, the ramparts of the fortified town could illustrate the whole evolution of the art of fortification from the medieval period onwards. Almost all of its ramparts were demolished in the first half of the 20th century. Apart from the interior of the citadel, only scattered remains survive today, notably to the north-east of the city, and, of course, the emblematic Castillet and the Porte Notre-Dame that adjoins it.