Citadel of Seyne

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Citadel of Seyne overlooks the village of Seyne, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Its oldest core, the Grande Tour (Great Tower), dates back at least to the 10th century, when Seyne was nicknamed “Seyne la Grande Tour” and placed under the protection of the Counts of Provence as the seat of a bailiwick and later of a viguerie. At the end of the 17th century, when Seyne was a frontier town facing Savoy, Louis XIV commissioned the engineers Niquet and then Vauban to fortify the site: a new curtain wall was built in 1690, and construction of the citadel proper began in 1693, incorporating the medieval tower into the works. The complex follows a narrow, elongated plan dictated by the topography of the site, supplemented by bastions, a powder magazine and casemates added in the 19th century. The medieval square tower is listed (classé) as a historic monument and the remains of the curtain wall are registered (inscrits), by orders of 23 August 1978. The site notably preserves a cistern adorned with stalactites, a bread oven and underground passages. The citadel is open to visitors, with prices and opening hours that vary by season.