Matafère Tower

En un regard

Le château en bref

Matafère Tower is a tower built by Charlemagne around 790 near the site of present-day Aigues-Mortes, in order to defend the coast. Its historical importance lies in the fact that it marks the beginning of the town's history, since at the time there was only the fishermen and the workers employed in the salt marshes of the surrounding area to defend. The tower's name is said to derive instead from the stagnant waters surrounding it; indeed, in the 8th century, the site where Aigues-Mortes now stands was already above sea level, so it is not the sea that explains the tower's name. It was long believed that Saint Louis later had the Tour de Constance built on the site of this tower, which was destroyed later. However, it is now accepted that this interpretation of the tower's location stemmed from an apocryphal charter drawn up by the monks of Psalmodi in order to legitimise certain territorial claims.