A Genius at Work

The gallery of the Château de Bazoches became the nerve centre of Vauban’s military plans. It was here that he planned his strategies and fortification designs, using intricate models featuring bastions, moats and ravelins. Vauban knew that the revolutionary changes to weaponry made the traditional, feudal fortifications of many French cities and castles vulnerable to attack. There are around 300 French cities that owe their design to Vauban, including Bayonne, Lille and Dunkirk. His methods of siege craft and fortification were revered and emulated for almost 100 years.t a trip to Bazoches will not disappoint.

When he wasn’t plotting military strategies, Vauban liked to write his ‘Idlenesses’, books on subjects as diverse as agriculture, science and currencies. It was at Bazoches that he penned his famous ‘Royal Tithe’, a protest against the privileges of the upper classes and the unfairness of the taxation system. He published the book without royal permission, resulting in his subsequent fall from grace in the last few weeks of his remarkable life.