Valenciennes

The town of Valenciennes, in the province of Hainaut, grew up during the 1st Millennium. It was fortified in the 14th century by Albert de Bavière before falling under the control of the Dukes of Burgundy in 15th century.

The town became a Spanish possession along with the rest of the Netherlands and in 1524 Emporer Charles V visited. It was probably around this time that the fortifications saw their first adaptations for artillery, in the form of three bastions protruding from the medieval wall.

In the mid-16th century Valenciennes became a centre for Protestantism and the townspeople became restless in the face of Spanish oppression.

Matters came to a head in 1576 when the town refused to take in a Spanish garrison. The Spanish Commander declared Valenciennes to be in a state of rebellion and was forced to lay siege to it. Several leading citezens and two Protestant ministers were put to death when the town finally fell.

Following the suppression of the revolt in the southern provinces, Protestantism was rooted out and the counter-reformation brought most of the population back to the Catholic church.

During the 16th century the fortifications of Valenciennes were strengthened by the construction of demi-lunes in front of the medieval wall and a covered way, which formed two hornwork-like arrangements in front of the two bastions in the east.

In front of the western bastion a star-shaped outwork was built in the ditch. There were no new bastions built in this period, the demi-lunes were relied upon to protect the medieval walls, which were still used as the town's main defence.

In 1656 the French commander Marshal Turenne attacked Valenciennes but the Spanish, under Prince Condé (who served France most of his life but spent a brief period in rebellion against the French King) made a successful defence and the town was not taken.

In 1677, roughly 100 years after the Spanish siege, Louis XIV brought his army against Valenciennes' fortifications. The town succumbed to Vauban's attack after just 17 days, ending in a daring assault undertaken in broad daylight (at the time it was standard to attack at night).

The Treaty of Nijmegen, signed in 1678, attached the town to France, whereupon it became the capital of French Hainaut. Vauban was tasked with strengthening the fortifications, which were still essentially medieval walls, only partially covered by demi-lunes, with only 3 bastions.

On the eastern section of the defences, he built 4 more bastions, 3 hornworks and 2 counterguards, in addition to strengthening the covered way.

To the west, where the river left the town, Vauban constructed an irregular triangular citadel. Although it appears to be weak on the southern side from the map, this area was covered by inundations caused by diverting water from the river, as a well as a horse shoe shaped outwork.

The citadel's townward (eastern) side was defended by two bastions and a small demi-lune and had the river as its ditch. To its west, there was a counterguard and a strong crownwork with two demi-lunes. Various barrack buildings were built to house the garrison, mostly in the inner citadel but also in the crownwork.

Valenciennes saw two more sieges, once in 1793 when it suffered 43 days of bombardment by allied forces and again in 1815 when its garrison held out successfully until the end of the war. With the exception of the citadel, the fortifications were dismantled in 1892.

Visiting Valenciennes

Although the citadel survived the demolition that swept away the rest of the fortifications, the two world wars that destroyed large parts of the town severely damaged it. All that remains today is the landward front of the citadel, which has been recently restored, although it seems not to its full height.

Of the town's defences, only the medieval Tour de la Dodenne remains today. The remains of the citadel are close to the railway station - in fact they are adjacent to the railway and can be seen from the train. If you decide that its worth getting off the train to take a closer look at the scant remains, a short walk across town will bring you to the Tour de la Dodenne. Perhaps the best way to visit the fortifications is when changing trains between Lille and Cambrai or Cambrai and Le Quesnoy, which are fortified places worthy of a longer visit.