Avesnes-sur-Helpe town walls

En un regard

Le château en bref

The fortifications of Avesnes-sur-Helpe are the result of several centuries of remodelling. A medieval town wall has surrounded the town since the twelfth century; a twelfth-century keep was uncovered from 1975 onwards. Becoming a lordship of the Dukes of Croÿ in 1502, the town received, between 1534 and 1538, on the initiative of Philippe II de Croÿ, a first bastioned enceinte designed by the Italian engineer Jacopo Seghezzi (Jacopo da Modena). Passing to the Crown of Spain in 1556, it was adapted by engineers from Madrid and Brussels until 1659, the date of its definitive annexation to France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Modernisation works were ordered in 1661; Vauban intervened from 1673 (enlargement of the Bastion de la Reine, remodelling of the outworks), and the fortress was incorporated in 1678 into the first line of the Pré carré. The dismantling of the ramparts was decided in 1867; what survives includes notably the Porte de Mons, the Bastions de la Reine, de France and Saint-Jean, the Mons front, several demi-lunes, a powder magazine and the water inlet.