The Fortifications Walk
The beginning of ‘The Fortifications Walk’ is the Place de la République, the centre of the town.
Directions to get there whether you come by car, bus or train are to be found on the ‘Introduction’ page on this website.
And, if you haven’t already done so, we recommend you read the ‘A Little History’ page on this website, before you go on the walk.
Latest Revision September 2024
The Fortifications Walk Plan
This plan gives you the complete picture of the old town and its enclosing fortifications, together with the route of The Fortifications Walk from its starting point in Place de la République (the green dot) to its conclusion at the same place. However, peppered throughout the Walk that follows on this page are many larger-scale plans which take you step-by-step along the route.
This aerial photograph taken in the 1950s clearly shows the old castrum, the central ring of streets that follow the line of the medieval moat with the church of Saint Martin in the middle, but also shows the irregular line of the larger half of the ‘figure of eight’ of the town’s fortifications (the smaller half encircling the Groenberg and the abbey, out of sight to the right), arguably Bergues’s greatest historical asset
‘Place défendue par Vauban, place impregnable, place attaquée par Vauban, place prise’
‘A town defended by Vauban is an impregnable town; a town attacked by Vauban is a conquered town’
(seventeenth century adage)
This Walk effectively comprises two halves, the first being the fortifications of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the second being the medieval fortifications. The walk proceeds in a clockwise manner which, after leaving the Place de la République, properly starts at the breach in the town wall at the top of the Rue de la Poterne and ends there too, before heading back to where it started in the place..
First, and because we start our walk with the seventeenth century fortifications, some information on Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), the man primarily responsible for the shape of all the town’s fortifications that we still see today.
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
The wars started in 1635 by France against Spain and only concluded in 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht, resulted in the determination of Louis XIV to strengthen France’s borders and thereby better safeguard territory newly conquered under his policy of territorial acquisition. This determination may have been especially acute given that some of the territory gained in his campaign (and confirmed in the Treaty of Nijmegen 1678) had to subsequently be handed back in 1713.
Louis did not have to look far for the expertise he needed. France already had an illustrious line of military engineers with Jean Errard (1554-1610) who served Henry IV in the construction of fortifications in Picardie and the Ile-de-France. Antoine de Ville (1596-1656) continued where Errard left off (nearby Montreuil in the Pas-de-Calais region features his work). Blaise François Pagan (1607-1665) served in the army under Louis XIII and also wrote ‘Les Fortifications’ in 1628 which was to influence Vauban.
Under Louis XIV’s orders, the Comptroller General of Finance and Superintendent of Royal Buildings, Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), appointed a first ‘Commissioner General’ for fortifications. He was Louis Nicolas de Clerville (1610-1677) who distinguished himself during the 1664 expedition against Algiers as well as playing an important part in the construction of the Canal du Midi. Another of his responsibilities was the naval port of Rochefort.
One of his assistants in the latter two projects was Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
Born of minor nobility in the Morvan region, Vauban was in his early years already noted as being studious, especially in the sciences. Made an ingenieur ordinaire in 1655, he subsequently took part in a series of military campaigns under the command of Louis XIV which were highly successful. Vauban’s primary preoccupation was the unnecessary loss of life in battle and this spurred him to perfect the art of the siege as well as other military techniques, during these campaigns. He was instrumental in the rapid conquest of the south of Flanders (Lille, Douai, Orchies) as part of the War of Devolution in 1667, additionally taking Tournai in just one day. Apparently, the French conquest of Ath was achieved without any battle at all as on the approach of the French forces in June 1667, the Spanish garrison fled. But Ath was to become just one of the towns returned to the Spanish in 1678, not that this meant peace; just 19 years later, the French returned to capture it again.
Vauban had already been awarded the title of General Commissioner of Fortifications by Louis XIV in 1666, made formal on Clerville’s death in 1677. In the Nord region, Louis continued to see his north-eastern neighbours as potential invaders.
Vauban’s plan comprised the creation of the Pré Carré, effectively a double line of fortified sites running along the frontier with the (as it then was) Austrian Netherlands and beyond towards the Meuse at Givet and Charleville. Bergues was on the première ligne between Dunkirk and Lille (the line continuing eastwards to include Valenciennes and Maubeuge), with the deuxième ligne running from Gravelines on the North Sea coast via Saint-Omer, Aire-sur-la-Lys, Arras (and on via Douai, Cambrai and Avesnes). The concentration of defensive projects in this region, as compared to elsewhere, was almost certainly due to the relative lack of natural defences as well as the proximity of Paris to this north-east frontier.
Vauban was assiduous in his study of all types of fortification and he used precedent wherever he considered it appropriate. Vauban’s work at Bergues, with regard to all-new works, followed a simple model. This comprised a courtine (curtain wall - see the drawing below), a thick masonry-faced wall with a rubble and/or rammed earth mass behind, which helped absorb the impact from cannon balls. This defensive wall was the final defensive structure, always the strongest and the highest, a formidable barrier designed to be impregnable. Breaking the defensive wall’s length were bastions, four-sided structures providing flanking fire to additionally protect the defensive wall, as well as the flanks of adjoining bastions. Their position along the wall was determined by the need to avoid any ‘dead’ areas between bastions where musket and grapeshot could not reach.
Plan of Vauban Premier Système of fortification with the main elements noted in the text
1 - courtine (curtain wall); 2 - bastion (bastion); 9 - fossé (ditch); 10 - cunette; 13 - demi-lune (half-moon); 15 - tenaille; 16 - glacis; 17 - chemin couvert (covered way); 18 - traverse; 19 - place d’arme rentrante; 20 - place d’arme saillante
Stretching between the bastions but located forward of the defensive wall, the tenaille (a thick wall usually lower in height than the main defensive wall) was provided as an additional obstacle to penetrate before being able to gain access to the main wall. The area between the defensive wall and the tenaille was deliberately narrow so as to reduce the number of men that could enter, as well as providing a canyon completely dominated from above by the defenders; in short, a lethal place for any attacker to find themselves.
But there was more. Forward of the main defensive wall (on the plan centreline of the tenaille) was a demi-lune (half-moon or the English ‘ravelin’) structure, not actually half-moon in plan but more usually triangular, which acted as a forward defence served by sunken or covered trenches leading out from behind the defensive wall. Finally, beyond the demi-lunes was the outer defensive line comprising the chemin couvert (covered way), a series of projecting triangles connected by a path which was protected by being located behind a dwarf wall. The path acted as location for forward cannon and musketry and was broken into smaller lengths by a traverse, a masonry or earth mound positioned at right-angles to the parapet line and acting as defensive positions, should the attackers gain access to the covered way. At the two ends of the demi-lunes were places d’arme rentrante and saillante (larger areas of the covered way where troops could gather for sallies, counterattacks, retreat etc).
Between the line of the defensive wall and bastions, and the demi-lunes and covered way, was a wide ditch, the fossé, completely overlooked on both sides, with a cunette (a small ditch or trench) running in the middle, filled with water. Beyond the covered way lay the glacis, a gentle slope down from the covered way to lower ground further out.
So, what did Vauban decide to do at Bergues?
His approach was entirely pragmatic, as indeed it was at nearly all the fortified sites that were his responsibility. First of all, Bergues already had a defensive wall dating from early medieval times which, in Vauban’s estimation, only required adjustment and/or repair together with some associated new works. Secondly, Bergues possessed an extensive network of canals and drainage channels, predominantly on the south and west sides of the town, dating from the earliest days of the County of Flanders and designed not only to permit the flooding of the platteland (flat land) in order to slow or even halt enemy progress, but also to prevent the water contained from being drained. Vauban’s experience in canal building aided his assessment of the use and modification of the existing waterways, for defensive purposes.
And now for the Walk! Assuming you are still standing in the Place de la République, you should walk past l’Hotel de Ville on its right-hand side, along the Rue du Gouvernement and then onward into Rue de la Poterne (there are some fine houses on this street too, on the left as you go uphill) which heads to the breach in the town wall which in turn leads onto the Avenue de la Liberté.
Starting from Place de la République, past the Town Hall and then uphill along the Rue du Poterne…
Plan 1
Rue du Poterne as seen from the top end with no.17 and no.19 the finest of the range of 17th-19th century buildings on the north side
…up the Rue du Poterne to the top where you see the breach in the town wall leading onto the Avenue de la Liberté…
Plan 2
Once past the opening (which is modern) you will descend along the avenue, with the defensive wall becoming ever higher, on your right. Just as you reach the point where the avenue starts to curve off to the left, you’ll see a gravel path straight ahead which drops down into the ditch beside the defensive wall. This is the beginning of the town’s ‘Sentier de la Couronne Saint-Winoc’, a path with occasional information boards and strategically-placed benches, which we will follow.
….down the avenue and further down onto the ‘Sentier de la Couronne Saint-Winoc’…
Plan 3
The pre-French Revolution plan above clearly shows the old defensive wall running around l’Abbaye de Saint-Winoc site complete with moat. This part of the old wall vanished once Bergues fell definitively into French hands with Vauban in charge of further securing the town, resulting in the formidable Couronne de Saint-Winoc we see on the later plan (right), still in large part with us today
You are now on the north-west side of the ‘Couronne Saint-Winoc’ (Crown of Saint Winoc), so-called because if you look at the shape of the fortification on the plan it comprises a principal bastion in the middle (Bastion du Roi) and two semi-bastions each side (to the north, Demi-bastion Saint-Winoc and to the south, Demi-bastion Saint-Pierre), with defensive walls between, all located on the east side of the abbey grounds and together having the appearance on plan of a three-pronged crown. This is where the first of the new works under Vauban’s direction actually started in 1670 when Bergues became part of France at the time of the Treaty of Aachen in 1668. Given that the most likely threat to the town was from the east, it must have been decided to demolish the old town wall in this area (aside from consideration of its defensive capability, the old wall may well have been in very poor condition) in favour of this all-new work, rather than repair the old wall and repair the water defences.
The first thing you’ll notice on walking into the ditch is the extraordinary sensation of transition from one world into another, that is, from the town and down into the oasis of calm the Demi-Bastion Saint-Winoc affords; it is as if you’ve passed through the entrance lobby of a great cathedral, from the bright and noisy exterior to the gloomy, near-silent interior. Secondly, you cannot fail to be impressed, standing in the ditch and looking up at the towering cliff-face of the defensive wall beside you. Just imagine the hundreds, if not thousands of men it took to build it and the vast quantities of material required to do so. The precision of workmanship involved in constructing such a structure is also to be marvelled at. The battered brickwork (meaning it is built to a receding slope or angle, in this case from the vertical) of the local yellow brick is very finely laid and sits on a coursed stone plinth which acts as a rusticated base, a typical feature of Renaissance building design. The plinth even has the sophistication of a canted stringcourse, one stonecourse below the junction with the brickwork. The wall is, not surprisingly, full of patch repairs and ‘open wounds’ that are often quite extensive but is more obviously in a general state of slow, silent decay, a state of play that affects the entire couronne.
The ditch was connected to the network of waterways on the north and west sides of the town and when necessary was full of water, acting as a moat. Today, as you again cannot fail to notice, nature has reclaimed the ditch and as a result, the ditch has become dense woodland which extends all around the outer defences of the couronne too. The still-present cunette opposite the wall, the remains of the completely overgrown counterguard structure beyond the watercourse, the sheltered north aspect and the covering tree canopy, all combine to give this part of the walk a distinctive ever-present atmosphere of shade and damp.
Continue walking towards the corner (or capital, the pointed tip of the Demi-bastion Saint-Winoc) and you’ll see that damage inflicted by a (probably) Second World War shell has been left unrepaired, so you see something of the thickness of the wall. On reaching the corner, one can again only admire the beautiful, finely-made cornerstone quoins. On rounding the corner, you are faced with something different again, as the equally-long but sunnier east face of the bastion, covered by creeping plants and hundreds of smaller species that find a foothold in the mortar, stretches away into the distance.
not just a defensive wall but in fact a work of consumate engineering skill
nature has taken hold with unbridled vigour everywhere
As you continue, you’ll see on the left the remains of the counterguard and further on, the Demi-lune Saint-Winoc; there’s a little bridge that crosses the cunette so you can explore the remains of these two structures if you wish (if you head eastwards, you’ll end up in the suburban estate which lines both sides of Hoymille’s Rue d’Ypres). These demi-lune structures, lying in front of the defensive wall, were designed simply to impede the enemy’s progress and often had a redoubt (a smaller structure on top, acting as a last defence before retreat, preferably stopping the enemy before it reached the main wall). The ditch surrounding it would also have become a moat when necessary.
passing by the first tenaille between Demi-Bastion Saint-Winoc and Bastion du Roi…
Plan 4
the daunting south-east face of the Demi-bastion Saint-Winoc (left) as seen from the capital at the north-east corner, where we can admire the superb workmanship of the stonemasons in forming these reinforced corners of the bastions
At the corner where the Demi-bastion Saint-Winoc turns away from the path, we see another structure adjacent, almost completely hidden by the plants and trees, the remains of the tenaille. If you wish, you could take a detour and walk within the gorge created by the coutine and tenaille via a smaller path that is not always easily discernible; it is quite a challenging walk because of the sense of confinement and as it is not much used, can be somewhat overgrown.
Is there anyone who would not want to be here?
Continuing along the main path, you will pass an information board and seat and begin walking alongside the north face of the Bastion du Roi. If you look at the top of the wall from time to time, you’ll catch sight of some of the remaining huge, overhanging blocks of stone that formed the defensive wall parapet copings.
At the tip of the Bastion du Roi, you follow the path around the corner and continue, so that you come to the south corner of the bastion where, as before, you can take the smaller path that follows the route of the defensive wall, should you wish to do so. To your left are the remains of the demi-lune located midway between the Bastion du Roi and Demi-bastion Saint-Pierre, completely taken over by nature with the roots of the trees breaking through the brick walls. Again, the tranquillity experienced here, animated by birdsong, is truly delightful.
…and around the Bastion du Roi…
Plan 5
the south side of the Bastion du Roi
the remains of outlying fortifications, almost completely taken over by nature, are everywhere to be seen on this part of the Walk
…to then pass by the caponniere and poterne midway between the Bastion du Roi and Demi-Bastion Saint-Pierre…
Plan 6
At this point, with the main wall heading away to our right and the tenaille between the two bastions occupying the area, our path heads off slightly to the left as the ground ahead gently rises (while the path briefly descends) at the point where the caponniere appears, this being the path you will see heading back to the wall with a poterne (gate) giving access under the tenaille and through the courtine behind via a door. The ground was deliberately banked up on both sides of this path so as to afford some cover to the troops using it, as the path provided access to the redoubt futher south.
…along the towering cliff face of the Bastion Saint-Pierre and around the corner….
Plan 7
Passing the centre point of the demi-lune and reaching the beginning of the east face of the Demi-Bastion Saint-Pierre, the plants and trees give way on your right, thereby affording a fabulous uninterrupted view of the defensive wall in all its magnificent splendour, crowned with the equally if not more splendid sight of the large, mature trees on top, all inclined towards the parapet as if seeking to protect it.
The Demi-Bastion Saint-Pierre east face as seen from the south
At the capital of the bastion, you again follow the path around the corner and you enter a more intimate area with pollarded trees lining a path on the left. At this point, Vauban’s wall has been replaced with a lesser modern wall (war damage, no doubt). Keep following the wall and you will come to the next corner with a rickety staircase leading to an opening in the wall itself.
At this point, you could take a small diversion and follow that easy-going stairway up to the top and perform a ‘U’ turn sharp left. Before you, a large open and green area with the backs of the 1960s Groenberg houses and the abbey towers beyond. Step further forward and you become aware of a very large hole in the ground – this is the rear of a series of ‘casemates’ arranged around a square courtyard with access stair down, together with passages and ramped paths linking other defensive areas along and around the couronne.
These bombproof shelters were built as protected spaces for the storage of supplies and/or shelter for troops and guns. The area has many other sally ports, tunnels and ‘secret passages’ permitting the garrison to move around without breaking cover in times of attack. In walking around this area, you will see several metal ventilation grilles set in the ground, providing air to these underground spaces and there are doors in walls in many locations in and around the couronne which exist either to facilitate defence or to confuse the enemy (some doors are ‘false’).
Having visited the casemates, you should return back down the stair you used to get up there, to the ‘rickety stair’ in the ditch. At this point and stretching out westwards ahead, you see the last section of Vauban’s work before reaching the junction between the Couronne de Saint-Winoc and the older medieval town wall. If you wish, you could retrace your steps all the way back to where we started the couronne tour, by climbing the rickety staircase again, follow the easy-going stairway up to the top of the wall and walking all the way back along the parapet path. This walk, too, is exceptional, especially for being under the canopy that belongs to the trees far down below in the ditch.
walking alongside the Rempart Bourguignonne, heading west…
Plan 8
Assuming you continue on the sentier, walking on and heading west, you pass on the left a batardeau, dame et vanne, one of the sluices used to regulate the water level in the ditch, before arriving at the caponnière (cofferdam) that stretches across the ditch at right angles to the defensive wall and which acted as a barrier between flooded and dry areas.
Passing through the opening in the cofferdam, you’ll be struck by the noticeably different aspect of the medieval wall before you, compared to the seventeenth century fortifications we’ve just seen. The origins of these older walls and their towers and gates lie in the fourteenth century and the structures erected were far simpler than those of Vauban’s time, comprising long lines of high defensive wall, often with a crenelated parapet and projecting towers of semi-circular plan at regular intervals. Vauban clearly regarded these older surviving fortifications as fit for purpose, needing only repair and improvement where necessary.
Here we should talk a little more about the history of these older walls.
We hope you may have already read a little about the history of Bergues in the ‘A Little History’ page on this website, so in relation to the older town walls we see today, it is probably correct to start at the death of Count Louis II in 1384. Flanders then passed to the Dukes of Burgundy and remained indirectly part of the French Crown. It was Philip the Bold who, on inheriting responsibility for Flanders, pursued a policy of strengthening the defences of Bergues, together with those of Gravelines, Ypres and Bruges. In 1403, he instructed that Bergues should cease to expand and instead improve its defences and levy taxes in order to do so. He also permitted the materials from damaged and demolished buildings to be used for this purpose.
This period of rebuilding and improving lasted for quite some time, it is thought up to around the middle of the fifteenth century. The result was the completion of the ‘figure-of-eight’ plan which finally brought town and monastery together within the fortified wall. The wall had twenty-six towers, of which nine remain today, and a flooded moat all the way around, together with at least six town gates.
So the wall you see ahead of you, the so-called Rempart Bourguignonne, is of this period although in common with all of the older walls, it is much repaired and modified and is best seen as preserving the route of the fifteenth-century wall, rather than actually representing it above ground.
The path runs right beside the north face of the demi-lune and then heads towards an opening in the town wall, on the east side of the Tour des Faux-Monnayeurs (Counterfeiters’ Tower) which today distinguishes itself in having trees growing on top! This tower is a gate structure which also had the name Porte du Mont (Hill Gate) because of its proximity to the Groenberg. A polygonal stair tower, on the north-west side, served the upper levels. Archaeological work in 2010 revealed the remains of vaulting ribs and a chimneypiece inside, as well as a window opening. Many of the details are similar to the Porte de Bierne (Bierne Gate) which we’ll see later on, but the Counterfeiters’ Tower has an aspect today that does not match that of the Bierne Gate.
The Rempart Bourguignonne as seen from the Tour des Faux-Monnayeurs platform
Passing through the opening in the wall, you arrive on the north side of the tour. Here you see a flight of easy-going stairs leading up to the top of the tower, which affords a splendid view from on high of the area you’ve just come from. You could take the precipitous stair immediately left on leaving the tower platform but we recommend instead going back down the easy stairs you used, turn left and follow the upper rampart (dated 1880) around, keeping to your left and you’ll see a narrow path descend back towards the wall, ending in a stair that drops to a lower-level path right beside the wall. Follow this route (the wall with arched openings supporting the rampart path above, with gun slots in the wall) until you arrive at the Tour des Couleuvriniers (my best guess on this is the ‘Cannon Handlers’ Tower’; la couleuvrine appears to be a species of ancient cannon, whose name might be derived from couleuvre, a long thin grass snake, and les couleuvriniers are the men that attended the cannon).
…from the Tour des Faux-Monnayeurs to the Tour des Couleuvriniers via the path on the north side of the town wall…
Plan 9
On passing through the Tour des Couleuvriniers, this is what you’ll see - the town wall marching onward to the Porte de Cassel
If you then pass through the interior of the tower, you come out on the outside of the wall, beside the flooded ditch. Cross the ditch via the gravel path.
It is difficult to determine if there is much left of anything original of this tower except its basic drum-like structure. It is similar to the Neckerstor which we’ll see a little later, in that it has two levels with the ground floor being vaulted; the stair to the upper level was on the north side.
The map made by Jacob van Deventer in 1550 shows the tower with a pepperpot roof but this disappeared with significant works carried out to a design of 1851 which resulted in a truncated roof finished with a triangular gable on the north side, in line with the town wall.
Upstairs, there were six cannon breeches arranged within the semi-circle that thus gave good cover all around the tower’s projecting wall; there was also a chimneypiece and a door giving access to the rampart path on the west side.
From the Tour des Couleuvriniers alongside the moat to the Porte de Cassel and then alongside the Remparts Espagnole…
Plan 10
A pre-First World War view of the moat east of the Porte de Cassel with the Tour des Couleuvriniers centre left and the larger Tour des Faux-Monnayeurs beyond and beyond that, the two abbey towers on the Groenberg…
…and a similar view today. What a shame that the superb tree we see on the old postcard did not survive to delight us now…
As you walk on beside the old moat, you will approach the Porte de Cassel at the southernmost tip of the town wall. For those of you familiar with other French fortified towns of the seventeenth/eighteenth centuries, the design of this gate will look familiar as many were built using an almost standard design. A curiosity here, on this the east side of the porte you’ll see five arrow slits; apparently, only four are original and of those that were, none were intended to be used i.e. they were there simply to fool the enemy.
Bergues’s finest entrance. The cheap, modern railings are an unfortunate error of judgement (too spindly), made worse by being painted red
Completed in 1752 and almost square on plan, the brick outer facade comprises two massive piers with recessed rectangular panels (a device used to the side walls as well) which rise the full height to the base of the open pediment that caps the whole gate, some 10 metres above ground. On the front facade only, the brick piers sit on stone plinths which themselves sit on more brick, with stone quoins to each corner; a nice touch is the remains of a mighty stone roll moulding at the junction of the brick and stone, entirely in keeping with the heavy-set design. The open pediment is entirely of stone, with a carved sunburst panel within it, symbolising ‘Le Roi du Soleil’, Louis XIV, much damaged apparently by the Germans. The gate’s arched opening is also formed of stone and set within a stone frame. Above, la pièce de résistance in the form of a busy stone panel (restored in 1995) depicting a coat of arms, sculpted by a Berguois named Van Brouchorst.
The Porte de Cassel between the two World Wars. Compared to its condition today, the gate has lost little apart from the drawbeams and chains and the white paint (no loss there). The simple railings either side look perhaps rather better than those we see today. As for the Hôpital Saint-Jean, whose chapel belfry we see on the left, it did not enjoy a similar fate and was bombed to rubble in the Second World War, along with nearly all the houses we see behind the gate in what was then the Rue du Sud
The gate, along with every other that existed and survives today, was originally equipped with a winch within the structure which, via two timber beams and attached chains, lifted the bridge to close the gate as and when needed. The beam rebates within the facade are still present, but the bridge below is a modern fixed structure with inlaid timber boards to give at least an impression of what once was. Inside, there are two tall ancient-looking timber gates hung from brick piers either side which may or may not represent original thinking. The interior has a simple barrel vault. The rear side of the building has an impressive, rusticated brick facade with rusticated opening closed with a massive keystone. The top of the building mirrors that of the front in that it too has a pediment, but here closed.
The remains of the ouvrage as seen before the Second World War (see below)
The area in front of the gate had a series of walls arranged as an ouvrage à cornes, in English ‘hornwork’, which was a forward defence structure comprising two walls extending out at right-angles to the gate with a wall linking them and a gate within. Vauban was always keen to provide a layered defence, the so-called ‘layers of the onion’, thereby imposing on any attacker the necessity to penetrate several defensive layers, each of which was capable of imposing crippling casualties as well as disorientating the enemy. These structures are still partially present, although the outer gate has long been a casualty of wars and the motor car.
Finally, the town council has treasured for some two years at least its proposal for providing a pedestrian footbridge here, as pedestrians are currently forced to dart through the gate via a very narrow strip of paving either side of the roadway inside which, given the high frequency of vehicle traffic, can be unnerving.
Permission to breach the town wall to provide a separate route for this footbridge has already been given and the rather charming sketch we see here illustrates, in principle at least, what is intended. In this writer’s opinion, simplicity and even anonymity would be conducive to success so as not to detract from the gate’s centuries-long pride of place.
From the sketch, one may discern that something akin to a simple beam bridge, supported at each end, is intended but given a gently sinuous configuration with - perhaps - timber decking and glass balustrading. While no detailed information appears to be available as yet (August 2021), this proposal looks promising in at least appearing to be modest. It will be very interesting to see the end result (works are due to start October 2021).
SEE NEWS 2023 BELOW!
The footbridge as envisaged.
The computer generated image for the new footbridge inevitably reduces the surroundings to what the programme can actually do graphically, in this case not much. This deficiency highlights the simple clean lines of the bridge but the complex reality of the setting thankfully easily assuages any thought of the bridge being too dominant and therefore intrusive rather than complimentary.
NEWS 2023
The footbridge as built.
Back in August 2021 as this website was being built, we commented (see above) on plans to introduce a pedestrian bridge alongside the Porte de Cassel, thereby relieving the dangers for pedestrians of having to pass through the gate with only a very narrow – indeed, near non-existent – path to follow. Of the still extant town gates, the Porte de Cassel is by far the most used to get into and out of the cour historique, especially by motor vehicles. It is estimated that some 6-7000 pass through the portal each day.
As part of what appears to be a concerted effort by the Mairie and Hauts-de-Flandre to spend money on improving a least some elements of the town (the others being improvements to the Place de la République and repairs to the Town Hall, which we cover briefly in ‘The Town Walk’), this project for the provision of the footbridge was initiated in 2023 and the design submitted to the French Ministry of Culture’s Monuments Historiques for approval, which was obtained within four weeks rather than the usual six. This was doubtless because the Porte itself suffered no alteration or loss at all and the new breach in the fortification wall itself, forming the access to the bridge, was in a part of the construction that was of much later date, and therefore less open to conjecture.
The end result is not exactly what appeared to be the case in the sketch (see above). What we see today is an arrow-straight bridge which spans the moat from a newly formed opening on the town wall to the bank opposite, landing on the east side of a mature willow tree. Just this consideration for the willow’s existence should be applauded as in lesser hands, thought might have been given to the tree’s removal in order to make the bridge not only a little shorter but also to look more logically arranged, in line with the Porte and parallel to it.
The fact that the distance between bridge and Porte grows as the bridge extends south works very well indeed as this not only helps preserve the Porte’s integrity but also enables us to see that the willow tree is an integral part of the design’s consideration. The arrangement of the bridge is also rather more dynamic than would have been the case, had it been positioned directly alongside the Porte.
If we walk down the Rue Maurice Cornette towards the Porte, there is at first little to advise you that you now do not need to worry about traversing the interior of the narrow gateway. This is because the new opening in the fortification wall is at right angles to the Porte entrance and it is only on approaching the Porte close up that one sees the new opening that gives access to the bridge. This is fine if you’re walking on the east footpath as you can’t miss the new way through; the new glass balustrade in front of the opening is also a visual cue. But walking on the west side means you only see your way through when you’re already almost at the Porte entrance, meaning you must cross the road here (or revert to the status quo ante i.e. walk through the gate). This effectively replicates something of the dangers to pedestrians of the previous through-the-gate-only access. This writer believes it would have been better to have a) installed a barrier, of the same type as the new one present on the east footpath by the new opening, to block access on the west footpath beyond the last house before the gate and b) to have provided a pedestrian crossing at that point to the other, east side of the street. Much safer all ‘round.
IWalking through the new opening brings with it a completely new vista when compared to the built-up Rue Maurice Cornette. We see the new bridge, certainly, but we also see to the left the view east to the Groenberg in the distance, the moat below us, the willow tree ahead and directly to our right, the solidity of the Porte’s east brick wall. This is all splendid.
The bridge itself is unashamedly modern. Nothing wrong with that, especially when in this case the design is modest, even straightforward and in being so does not try to compete with or emulate anything of the historic structure right beside it, which clearly deserves pride of place. The bridge is of a trapezoidal section comprising transverse steel plate ribs spot-welded to steel sheets, forming the underside, with a flat steel plate deck covered with a resin aggregate finish which has been used on the new footpath too. The bridge is therefore, effectively, one long very thin box section with all other structure – the little that there is - concealed within. Deck drainage appears to be via slots in the balustrade base, draining directly to the moat; those slots look likely to eventually block drainage rather than expedite it.
Monuments Historiques suggested the laminated glass balustrading to aid ‘transparency’, the glass panels being retained within a stainless-steel channel at deck level and ‘C’ section aluminium extrusions above that also act as a handrail (a hardwood handrail would have been a lot better, not only aesthetically but also more comfortable to grip). The transition from bridge to footpath at both ends is handled well with a stainless-steel threshold covering the gap and white cement has been used in forming the concrete retaining structures which enclose the neoprene pads and steel bases on which the bridge sits. The precast concrete edging to the footpath is of similar appearance. The colour chosen for the balustrading metalwork is perhaps a little too bright but for the partially-sighted it will be welcome. LED lighting is incorporated too.
On arriving at the opposite bank to the wall, the new footpath continues the straight trajectory of the bridge until it is past the lovely willow, at which point the path turns right and we pass the tree to end up at the footpath beside the road. On reaching this point, one unmistakably feels the satisfaction of having passed through something special, a spatial sequence that has delighted us. And you can do it all again, but this time heading back into town!
Just one more thing.
Those of you reading this that are British may well remember a little controversy erupting over a new bridge crossing the river Thames in London. Designed to be in place and open in the year 2000, the Millenium Bridge was billed as a ‘blade of light’ by its designers and certainly looked very different from other bridges in having its suspension system cables located under the deck. On the day it opened, the many walking across it were subjected to a swaying motion that caused them to feel vaguely amused, alarmed and/or seasick and resulted in closure the very same day. Some expensive alterations allowed the bridge to open again, some two years later. But the epithet ‘The Wobbly Bridge’ has endured.
Well, the Porte de Cassel pasarelle has a similar problem. But only if someone jogs across it. It seems that the regular pounding of someone’s feet as they run across the bridge produces much the same reaction as that of the London pasarelle, except the motion is not side-to-side but instead up-and-down. Thankfully, the scale of the London bridge is here in Bergues but a fraction of it and even then, the two designs are not the same at all. Nonetheless, interesting. It seems that while copious testing was carried out on the bridge’s capacity to support a given dead load, there was no testing in situ for any untoward effects from normal, daily use where dynamic loads would be applicable. The bridge is, after all, more than 27 metres in length and, as described, a very long steel sheet box section with minimal additional structure. With no intermediate support provided, some movement – or oscillation – could be expected under live load.
It’s not a big issue. Bergues can be proud of this new addition to its patrimony. And we can be sure that the involvement of Monuments Historiques in the design process has ensured that the built result is not just attractive in itself but also carefully considered with regard to context. This level of careful consideration is what Bergues should always get whenever new construction of any type is proposed to the cour historique.
To the left of the Porte de Cassel stretches what is known as the Remparts Espagnols, apparently dating from the sixteenth century but as seen today, much repaired, modified and tidied-up. With the advent of the iron cannonball came the need to better reinforce the medieval walls as these balls were capable of far more damage to the walls than had been the case previously. Here we can see this reinforcing in that the wall has a very thick massed-earth backing and is planted with trees, which not only helped to stabilise the earth but also provided for good drainage.
You can walk along these remparts by passing through the Porte de Cassel and immediately on your left you’ll see a path which leads up to the track (and then the Chemin de la Neckerstor) that follows the line of the earthwork; or, at the track’s beginning, there is a small stair that gives access to the path on the rampart top. If you take either route, you’ll see the older of the two gunpowder stores that Bergues still has.
Our route, however, takes us through the little park on the left of the porte, which ends just before reaching the projecting Bastion du Moulin (Mill Bastion). At this point, you’re right beside the busy D 916, the main vehicle access route to Bergues, straightened and widened after the Second World War. This route permits us to see the defensive wall from the outside.
Having passed the projecting Bastion du Moulin, the Neckerstor is the next stop….
Plan 11
Keep on walking until you reach our next point of interest, the Neckerstor. This gate is in fact a water gate. If you’ve been on ‘The Town Walk’, you’ll already know that there is a subterranean watercourse running under the town from here, at the Neckerstor, all the way to the Porte de Hondschoote over on the north side of the town; before being covered over, it was an open waterway.
The tower’s name is Flemish, the Necker being an evil spirit from Flemish mythology which prowled the waterways and which apparently had a piercing scream that disorientated any travellers nearby. More likely to disorientate you today is the noise of the constant traffic on the D 916 and/or the passage of a steel coil train on the adjacent Arras-Dunkirk railway.
The tor is again much altered. From where you’re standing, you see the semi-circular projection beyond the line of the defensive wall; behind it is a flat wall, so in plan the tower is a ‘U’ shape some 9 metres long and 7.5 metres wide, all sitting on a slightly wider base. The opening to the waterway is framed by a semi-circular stone arch with a flat lintol above with the semblance of a cornice (all of which looks to be seventeenth century). Inside, it is of two storeys with the ground floor having a quadripartite brick ribbed vault above (more than 5 metres high) and in the floor, a ‘murder hole’ with the waterway directly under – anyone hoping to achieve access via the water would come to a grisly end if found here. Also here, the sluice mechanism for maintaining the waterway level; we know that in the nineteenth century, the waterway had a brick semi-circular vaulted roof, was 3 metres wide and 3.6 high and had a water depth of 1.5 metres. The tower’s top floor is actually an open-air terrace which was once covered by a pepperpot roof, just as many of the other towers of the medieval period in Bergues.
On the ‘land side’, on the Chemin de la Neckerstor, the flat facade looks like a small castle with its parapet and attached stair tower and turret. This facade changed somewhat as part of a ‘renovation’ of the nineteenth century, a time notorious for the repair and so-called ‘enhancement’ of medieval buildings to make them suitably picturesque. The bullseye windows at the top of the stair and the turret are from this time while on the water side, the gun slots in the tower wall were bricked-up; the parapet to the terrace is also ‘new’. To see all this, you could make a short detour along the Chemin de la Neckerstor from the Porte de Bierne, which is our next stop.
An area of great contrasts - the station and the Porte de Bierne
Plan 12
La Gare de Bergues well before the arrival of the D 916. A bucolic scene when the station still had a buffet, there were allotments next to the moat and motor traffic was in its infancy…
…and the not quite so handsome scene of today! The usual proliferation of street furniture, signage, bollards and barriers together with vast areas of paving regrettably not only successfully divorce the station from the town it serves, but also reduce the building to a hapless spectator. This fine nineteenth century creation desperately needs a new and respectful environment in which to take its place as a fine example of the architecture of France’s industrial revolution
Continuing along the footpath beside the road, you will see the Gare de Bergues on your left. It is very much a building of its nineteenth-century time and the Region Nord in that it is of eclectic Neo-Gothic style, of red brick with lots of fussy (but good) brick detailing and gothicky windows. The platform canopy on the other side of the building still exists but the little waiting room on the Dunkirk platform has long vanished, replaced by one of those inimitably French 1920s concrete ‘bus shelter’ structures. Also missing, the adornments to the tops of the entrance bays on both sides and to north and south facades.
The coming of the railway in 1857 changed everything in the area, with the destruction of the demi-lunes that protected almost the entire length of the town wall on the west side. Further demolition took place after the last war with the arrival of the industrial park you see today, which took over railway land once occupied with a goods yard. All that remains now are isolated parts of the Couronne de Bierne and their associated flooded ditches which once acted as defence on this, the west side of the town but there is a pleasant walk from the back of the station towards neighbouring Bierne, which passes through and along the remnants of these structures.
The town council is considering a thorough reassessment of this area, given that it is right beside the principal access routes to Bergues (the railway, the bus station and the D 916) and thereby the introduction to the town for the majority of visitors – it is not a pretty sight. There is, as part of this reassessment, a clearly stated concern for the remains of Vauban’s work in this area, so it will be interesting to see what is eventually proposed. And, of course, what is eventually built.
The glazed canopy on the platform side, together with its two side walls, have thankfully survived. The external fabric is obviously being maintained on ‘only when absolutely necessary’ basis (and the poverty of those repairs can be seen in what’s been done to the upper part of the south facade) and it is a shame that the interiors lie empty with the sole exception of the booking hall. On the right, an aerial view from the 1950s showing the station and its goods yard, with the zig-zag course of the Couronne de Bierne moat easily discernible
The Porte de Bierne before the Second World War. Beyond the gate, in the distance, the old beffroi and the spire of the chapel of l’Abbaye des Dames de Saint-Victor, all to be swept away in the coming conflict….
…and the porte today. Along with all the other surviving gates to the town, this one has received more than its fair share of ‘restoration’ so one may, for example, look quizzically at the porthole cannon opening on the left-hand tower. While the town is going to build a new pedestrian access for the Porte de Cassel, there is a very strong argument to be made for this gate, right in front of the station, to be made motor traffic free i.e. for pedestrians, bicycles and emergency vehicles only
Directly opposite the station, the Porte de Bierne. While it may be said that the Porte de Cassel is a refined architectural exercise and as such the best Bergues has, the Porte de Bierne (Bierne Gate, the name coming from the neighbouring village to the west), being older, is rather less sophisticated but considerably more imposing and certainly redolent of a defensive structure.
It dates from the early fifteenth century and may be said to belong to the Châtelet style in that it resembles a small castle. It is typically medieval in having two massive ‘U’-shaped towers either side of the entrance itself and closely resembles gates of similar type erected in nearby Bruges and Cambrai. Again, it is difficult to look at this structure and be sure of what one is looking at, given that it had a nineteenth century ‘renovation’ but we can be fairly sure that the classical cornice over the entrance is a later addition, as is the winch, associated chain wheels and chains as well as the drawbridge supposedly heaved up to close the gate (the ‘drawbridge’ today is immovable).
The splendid columns and entablature of the town side of the porte could only be of Vauban’s time whereas those two porthole openings and doors below look decidedly modern
The rear facade is almost completely flat except for the old stair towers and fine gateway, again of later date with new doorways and bullseyes each side probably even later. And one might expect a crenelated parapet all around or if not that, then a pepperpot roof structure on top; the parapet we see is again of later date.
Inside, however, is the original quadripartite brick ribbed vault above the west bay, and the left-hand tower (from the entrance side) has an aiming slit that just might be original. Both towers would originally have had cannon slots but these have all been bricked-up, leaving just a few of the aiming slits.
Never mind, the gate is unquestionably fine and a great introduction to Bergues with a nice view through to the town beyond with the beffroi in plain sight. The street is the western continuation of the Rue de la Gare, originally Bieren Straete and Rue de Bierne, on which stands one of Bergues’s larger monuments.
Directly behind the Porte de Bierne, the Caserne de Bergues is easily the largest single building in town, possibly exceeded only by the church of Saint Martin
A 1950s postcard with the Caserne and the Porte de Bierne. Traffic on the widened and re-routed D 916 would not take long to increase substantially, especially with the steady nationwide closure of railway goods depots (including that of Bergues, part of the remnants of which can be seen on the right) and consequent transfer of freight to road
Difficult to ignore is the Caserne de Bergues (Bergues Barracks) standing right behind the Porte de Bierne. This imposing building, of typical eighteenth-century Classical design, examples of which are to be found all over France, was first named Quartier Bierne but then assumed the name Caserne Thémines after the Maréchal of same name (Pons de Lauzières-Thémines, a soldier of the French army under Louis XIII, who found favour in assisting Louis in repressing Italian rebellion against French rule). The name changed again to Caserne Leclaire in recognition of Théodore François Joseph Leclaire (1752-1811), Brigadier General who, as part of the Flanders Campaign in the Revolutionary Wars, distinguished himself in August 1793 in defeating the Duke of York’s Anglo-Hanoverian Corps at nearby Wormhout and Esquelbecq. Leclaire pushed them north, thereby liberating Bergues as well and in September the same year, further distinguished himself in the Battle of Hondschoote which forced a further British retreat to Veurne. The building served as a military hospital during the Revolution.
The barracks were built during the years 1732-36 by an entrepreneur from Dunkirk, one Louis Jeanty and could house close to 1000 soldiers. Arranged on plan as a ‘U’ shape, the building is founded on thousands of oak piles driven into the unstable ground (notwithstanding that, the building displays a degree of settlement in several locations) and rises to three tall storeys with another two within the vast roof of the west wing, with just one attic storey to the other two wings.
The architectural treatment to the walls is elegantly straightforward - a projecting brick cornice to the eaves with strong brick stringcourses defining each storey; a stone plinth and stone quoins to the building corners. Window openings all have slightly-projecting brick reveals (which match the projection of the stringcourses) and segmented brick arches, with cills of stone whose front faces line up with the stringcourses to which they are aligned; some cills are of brick.
The large courtyard created was closed on the south side with a 6-metre-high wall with a large gateway in the middle, all now gone. The building was purchased by the town in 1950 and refurbished to become social housing; it is today named Résidence Leclaire.
From the Porte de Bierne, along the ramparts path, to the Porte de Dunkerque….
Plan 13
Beside the west façade of the caserne, you’ll see a yard (the former cour des accessoires to the caserne) with garages, through which you should walk and on reaching the Rue de l’Arsenal, over the road you’ll see a path to the left beside a low brick wall, next to the bridge – this path follows the ramparts and ends at the Porte de Dunkerque.
Cross over the sluice and at the porte, turn left and walk through to the other side – there is a pleasant green space nearby with willow trees, a good spot to look at the gate.
Did you bring a packed lunch?
The Porte de Dunkerque before the Second World War, complete with drawbridge and cobbled road
The porte today with no drawbridge and the cobbles also long gone. But it has come down to us in much the same condition as existed decades before and while the town is intent on remedying the pedestrian/motor traffic conflict at the Porte de Cassel, the same (and arguably worse) situation exists here too but there do not appear to be any plans for pedestrian footbridges here
The Porte de Dunkerque is similar to the Porte de Bierne in having two massive semi-cylindrical or ‘U’-shaped towers either side of the road and is thought to be contemporary to it; it also had a drawbridge and massive timber doors to the rear. The rusticated stone columns belong to Vauban’s time, as do probably the stone cornices. One is tempted to speculate that, just as may be supposed for the Porte de Bierne, there were once pepperpot roofs to the towers but today just simple parapets sit atop the walls.
If we walk just a little further down the road westwards from the porte, we come to a bridge where, on the left, you’ll see a complex of two cofferdams parallel with the bridge, with attendant sluices nearby. The canal passing between the cofferdams is the canal superieure which is the westerly continuation of the Bras de Décharge de la Basse Colme and the Canal de la Haute Colme which begins here, heading west to Bourbourg and points beyond.
The sluices here enable regulation of water levels from the superieure to the inferieure, the channel that passes under the road bridge we’re standing on, which drains into the port. At the east end of the Bras, a similar set of sluices regulate water levels too.
From the Porte de Dunkerque to the Rue du Quai and the Port
Plan 14
Le Quai du Port as it was known before the First World War. The barges that used to sail here were of a Flemish design and known in Flanders as a Belgische spits, or the French péniche flamande, single-masted and modest in size. Called a guinot or péniche guînoise in French Flanders, this local name appears to have originated from Guines near Calais, where the French version was built
The Port de Bergues, an oasis of calm today
Above, a postcard view of the port as seen in the late 1950s through the west gate, with the Canal de Bergues stretching away into the distance, contrasted with the same view today (right)
Passing back through the porte, we continue to La Taverne Vauban on the corner, at the beginning of the Rue du Quai on the left with its gateway leading into the port of Bergues.
The Rue du Quai originally had the Flemish name Kaaystraete and before that, the Noord Mullenstraete due to the wheat mill that once stood near La Tour Rouge (the mill is long gone but we’ll see the tour a little later).
The port is simply a wider part at the west end of the Canal de la Basse Colme, here at its junction with the Canal de la Haute Colme (heading west) and the much wider Canal de Bergues (heading north to Dunkirk). The Canal de Bergues is still navigable today, but the Canal Basse and Haute Colme fell out of use in the 1960s and are now déclassé (unnavigable).
The Canal de Bergues heads almost directly north from the south-west corner of the port. Almost all the trees you see on the east bank (right) were planted after the Second World War and together form a linear nature park of some 6 kilometres in length, up to and including the Fort Vallières, an intermediate defensive post along Vauban’s Pré Carré
This extract from the plan produced by Jacob de la Fontaine in 1635 shows the Porte de Bergues at the time. At the south end, the Porte de Dunkerque (numbered ‘1’) and just a few steps north of it, the gate we’ve just passed through. The plan also shows the north gate and La Tour Rouge, both still extant but the mill you can also see next to the tour has not survived
For many centuries, the port thrived via trade with England, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as inland trade with, for example, Le Havre and Nantes. Regarding the international trade, Bergues was known as Bergues-sur-Mer because navigation via the Canal de Bergues was direct from the English Channel, with sea-going vessels not needing to offload their cargo in Dunkirk as the Bergues canal had sufficient width and depth to accommodate them. This proved to be a regular source of friction with Dunkirk, as the ships sailed through its port instead of berthing and loading/unloading there, losing the city not insignificant revenue. Disputes about the maintenance of the water level in the Canal de Bergues were frequent and even the intervention of Charles V on the town’s behalf did not stop the rivalry.
Today, the port sees an occasional tourist boat during the summer season but the sparse waterborne freight traffic still operating is confined to the déviation, bypassing Bergues, which runs more directly from Dunkirk to Watten on the (navigable) river Aa
The French Revolution appears to have brought an end to regular use of the canal and this was accelerated by improvements in the roads and later, the arrival of the railway. The goods imported included salt, locally-sourced timber, French wines, coal, and fertiliser while those exported from Bergues included grain, flax, pulses and potatoes. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the port was still active in the movement of coal, cereals, beetroot and manure but this was sporadic and ceased soon after.
The Rue du Quai heads east alongside the water’s edge and the town wall here, along the port’s length, is thought to be the oldest part still extant of the town’s fortifications with parts dating from the fourteenth century. Walking along, we come to another porte on the right, a fine stone structure supposedly dating from 1620 although 1790 is inscribed on the keystone. The porte via which we entered the Rue du Quai probably once looked very much like this one too.
The quayside terminates at La Tour Rouge (The Red Tower) which is also thought to be the town wall’s oldest. This tower is much better seen from the other side of the port and to get there, we have a choice.
From the port, a choice of three routes to get to our next point of interest….
Plan 15
From the gate, we can pass through it and take:
a) the path along the remparts (you’ll see the path on the left, heading upwards) heading east or
b) take the rustic Chemin de Guy de Dampierre which takes you through the Presqu’Ile area discussed as part of ‘The Town Walk’ or
c) walk the ‘urban route’ down the Rue du Quai to the Pont de Saint-Jean and turn left to pass through the Place du Marché aux Fromages
Whichever route we take, we will see immediately on the left after passing through the gate, Bergues’s second gunpowder store, the Poudrière du Rivage, a much larger building than the earlier Spanish equivalent we saw behind the Remparts Espagnols and constructed as part of Vauban’s work in the town in the eighteenth century. The building is unfortunately practically a ruin despite being a Monument Historique. It is not threatened by the Presqu’Ile development discussed in ‘The Town Walk’ but its future is clearly questionable, even though various ideas have been suggested, amongst them a discotheque.
All three routes bring you to the canal basin in front of the Ancien Abattoir, from where you should head east alongside the basin and along the Rue du Marché aux Poissons and through the breach in the town wall where the old Porte d’Hondschoote once stood.
There is nothing left of The Porte de Hondschoote on the town side. On the outside, practically all that is left are the two rusticated brick piers and their attached stone columns; the pier ‘capitals’ are modern. Before it was demolished after the First World War in order to permit hay carts to pass through (!), it was a contemporary of the Porte de Cassel and had a centrally-located plaque over the arch (the arch at its highest at approximately half the pier heights) featuring the arms of Louis XIV, carved by the same local artist who provided that we still see on the Porte de Cassel. On top of that, a very heavy arched pediment completed the composition. The gate we see today was restored by the town in 2013.
The beginning of a pleasant walk from the Porte de Hondschoote takes us to the Tour Rouge, but could take you much further…
Plan 16
The road you’re standing on is the D3 which heads in the direction of Hondschoote to the east of Bergues. If you now walk a little further on i.e. away from the porte, you will see a magnificent tree which marks the junction of the D3 with the Avenue Vauban, off to the left. Taking the avenue, you cross over the bridge next to a sluice on the Basse Colme and then, on your left again, you’ll see a single-track road that goes in the direction of the port, running next to the town’s campsite/caravan park on the right.
The Promenade Charles Quint is like no other road in Bergues, bordering the moat with the old town wall beyond and trees everywhere - ‘beautiful’ hardly captures it
But our interest here is primarily La Tour Rouge, which by standing on this side of the Basse Colme and the port, we can now see much better. It is thought to have its foundation in the period in the early fourteenth century when Guy de Dampierre, who was the Count of Flanders from 1278 to his death in 1305, ordered the erection of a new enclosing wall for Bergues in defence against the French (who were not happy with Dampierre’s alliance with the English). It is thought that it was this wall that finally united the two halves of Bergues, namely the Groenberg and its abbey, with the town below. Despite the new wall, Bergues was not able at that time to survive a siege so the wall did not prevent the town’s surrender through starvation.
The tower is so-called because of the red brick used for the majority of the construction. Inside, there are two storeys, the upper served by a spiral stair against the curved part of the external wall, with the first floor having a vaulted brick ceiling and a fireplace. Externally, there appears little that could be called ‘original’ in the openings and there are many signs of repair. Indeed, it is likely that the upper half dates largely from modern times, with the lower parts perhaps older. The fact that the adjoining defensive wall appears to be separate to the tower i.e. the junctions are hardly ‘built in’ is another tell-tale sign of later work. But, like the Porte de Bierne and the towers to the Rempart Bourguignonne, the tower looks impressive and looks medieval!
If you were to continue along this road, the Promenade Charles Quint (Charles The Fifth Promenade; Charles was the 31st Count of Flanders but is better known as the ruler of a vast empire. In 1549, Charles visited Bergues in order to present his son Philip to the town), you would walk alongside the port and then round the north-east corner to continue along the east side of the Canal de Bergues.
This is a very quiet road (it becomes the prosaically-named Route du Golf further on), disturbed only a little by the noise from the D 916 on the opposite bank but it is truly lovely with mature birch trees both sides.
You could continue all the way north to Dunkirk and in doing so visit the sites of two forts belonging to Vauban’s time, Fort Vallières (which is today a nature park) and the Parc d’Agglomération du Fort Louis (a public park belonging to neighbouring Coudekerque, which preserves something of the fort’s layout but not much else as it was destroyed in the last war).
All perfectly possible by bicycle too.
Just glorious…
But there are other beautiful walks in the same area and closer to Bergues, beside the flooded ditches which form part of the town’s northern defences, namely the Couronne d’Hondschoote with its Canal du Roi and Canal des Crevettes, the last of the defensive works executed by Vauban and completed in 1744. Really, not to be missed.
To continue the tour, you should now walk back the way you’ve come up to the Avenue Vauban, where you should turn left and walk past the 1960s houses on the right, until you reach the eighteenth century l’avant-porte d’Hondschoote.
We retrace our steps past the port, along Promenade Charles Quint and Avenue Vauban to arrive at l’avant-porte d’Hondscoote…
Plan 17
Prior to The First World War, l’avant-porte d’Hondschoote, in common with all the surviving gates to the town, still possessed its drawbridge, beams and chains. Today, and apart from the loss of the drawbridge, the gate is essentially intact but the Second World War’s destruction meant the bridge over the moat also had to be renewed.
l’avant-porte d’Hondschoote stands in splendid isolation, the only gate integral to the Couronne d’Hondschoote, amongst the last of the defensive structures built by Vauban
You might ask, what is this gate doing here, far from the town wall? Well, the clue is in the name – the ‘avant-porte’ (‘forward gate’) of Hondschoote. Vauban was always keen, in planning the defences to a town, to add defensive layers, rather like the skins of an onion – once you peel away one, you find there is another. This technique is called ‘depth defence’ and so it is here where this gate forms part of the Couronne d’Hondschoote, constructed precisely in order to at least delay any invading force intent on reaching the town wall.
The porte on its outer face is stone-clad with each pier having a pair of attached columns, surmounted by a projecting capping finished on top with what appear to be pinecones; the gate is thus unsurprisingly known locally as the ‘Porte aux Boules’ (‘The Balls Gate’). The details have much in common with their cousin, the Porte de Cassel, in that they are robust, and the rusticated style is shared as well.
You should now retrace your steps back to the Porte de Hondschoote and the town wall. As you approach the wall, you’ll see on the left-hand side a low arched opening which was the entrance to the little port beyond, which once served the fruit and vegetable farmers of nearby Hoymille and was also the north-east entrance to the town’s underground canal.
You’ll see a gravel path heading off alongside the town wall, which passes through a pleasant tree-lined area and brings us to the last point of interest, the Tour des Sept Baraques (which means ‘Tower of the Seven Tombs’?).
This tower is different in being rectangular in plan with a stone base and its brick walls are battered. The extent of the building once clearly exceeded what we see today, judging from the stone remains in front and alongside the cofferdam which tend to suggest something like the Porte de Bierne may once have stood here. The building looks to have been altered as well by the defensive wall itself, on the east side, of Vauban’s date.
The tower acted as a postern gate, giving access from the defensive wall to the ditch and the cofferdam. There is a cannon porthole low down on the west side, acting as flanking cover here, partially hidden behind the massive corner pier. The doorway you see is modern.
Continuing on through the trees, we finish at the breach in the town wall where the Walk properly started, from where it is an easy walk down, back into town and the Place de la République, where refreshments are to be found!
As a footnote to what we have seen on The Fortifications Walk, back in 1922 there were plans proposed by the French authorities to radically alter Bergues’s fortifications, the idea being, I would guess, to make them better resistant to the modern methods of warfare encountered during the First World War. Apparently, a concerned group of Berguois, keen to preserve unaltered what they perceived as an essential part of the town’s history, protested at the plans. Luckily, it seems both the Ministries of Defence and of Culture were unable to agree a way forward and in 1936, the entire extent of the fortifications was declared a Monument Historique.
Progress is inevitable and the changes that come with it. But we have those brave and concerned citizens to thank for the fact that the fortifications, in all their splendour, are still present today for us and future generations to enjoy and admire.
And on that note, in the Spring of 2024 the Mairie held a public consultation to ascertain what its citizens considered to be priorities for the town to act on. Number 1 was revealed to be the maintenance and repair of les remparts! No-one should be surprised by this because, if you’ve just completed the walk described on this page, you’ll have seen how nature has effectively overrun the structure in many places, but especially on the east side. Ivy in particular but also many other plants have taken hold and are slowly weakening, via their root networks, the glue that holds the brickwork together, namely the mortar. With the mortar pointing weakened, rainwater is better able to penetrate the structure’s fabric and with alternate freeze-and-thaw cycles in the colder months, the brickwork is dislodged and falls away.
There has been at least some attempt to arrest decay. In recent times, local shepherds have been licensed to permit their flocks to graze the approximately 40 hectares of green space that abut the fortifications, a policy which has helped control ground cover. There is also an arrangement with Hauts de France whereby emergency repairs are carried out to the walls themselves. But this is not even a holding operation and the town knows it. It’s estimated that it would cost some 20 million euros to repair and restore the entire wall so as to safeguard it for the future. Unsurprisingly, this is money the town does not have.
Enter the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. This extraordinary body, created in 1816 as a successor to a similar organisation created by Napoleon, can best be described as a ‘vehicle of convenience’ for the funding of investment by the French State. It is controlled by parliament and defined as ‘a public group serving the public interest’. It is also a long-term investor and has stakes in many French companies such as La Poste, Transdev, RTE….the list goes on. In 2008, the CDC sponsored a new ‘compensation fund for biodiversity’ via its specialised subsidiary CDC Biodiversité. After discussion with the Agence d’Urbanisme et de Developpement de la Region Flandre Dunkerque (a planning and development agency for the region) following the result of the public consultation, the CDC Biodiversité was named as a possible source of assistance. It has a mandate to assist in achieving the government’s aim of carbon neutrality by 2050, so it is interested to support initiatives that involve not just the conservation of existing natural resources but also their enhancement. The 40 hectares of green space in which Bergues’s fortifications find themselves look to be a prime candidate for the CDC’s attention and, hopefully, financial beneficence, allied to new industrial developments planned for the Dunkirk area where losses to biodiversity in those locations could be made up for by enhancing Bergues’s green spaces. That could mean a saving for the Bergues’ municipality i.e. instead of spending its money on looking after those green spaces, that money could now be reallocated to looking after the fortifications themselves.
This could release something in the order of 200,000 euros of the municipalitiy’s funds per year. It’s nowhere near the 2 million euros required for les remparts in their entirety, but it would allow the town to pursue a steady year-by-year programme of much needed repair and maintenance.
It is extraordinary, even slightly bewildering, to imagine what the fortifications could look like in, say, ten years’ time should this initiative bear fruit….
We very much hope you’ve enjoyed ‘The Fortifications Walk’! If you haven’t also been on ‘The Town Walk’, may we recommend that you do so after, of course, rest, relaxation and refreshment in the Place de la République!