Enceinte de Provins: Medieval Fortification in France

The Caesar Tower is a dungeon of the xii the century, located in Provins (Seine-et-Marne, France) at the top of the hill moved uptown.

This is the only known square base octagonal dungeon.

The tower also served as a prison. During the Hundred Years War, it was occupied by the English who surrounded it with a wall.

The Caesar tower has been classified as a historical monument since 1846.

History

A first tower, existing in 1137, is named in the charter setting the limits of the fairs of Champagne.

The current tower was built on a rocky outcrop on the Upper Town, formerly called “King’s Tower“, “Big Tower“, “Prisoner’s Tower“, it was probably built during the reign of Henry the Liberal., after 1150 according to André Châtelain. Legend has it that the origin of Provins is in Roman times.

Following this tradition, the big tower of Provins would have been built by Julius Caesar. However, no source proves that Caesar never came to Provins. this name is closer to a symbol of power. Originally, the tower was not covered and ended with battlements.

Architecture

This tower is built on an artificial mound. It straddles the walls of the fortifications whose dungeon function it was. It also served as a prison, but its main role was the order of the military: two walkways allowing the watch on the plain of Brie.

It has a square plan at its base, becoming octagonal at mid-height, flanked by four turrets standing out at the first walkway. The base of the building is covered by a heavy masonry wall, added by the English after the siege of 1432. The Caesar Tower was topped by a terrace with a watchtower and a walkway embattled.

Roof

The tower is covered and houses two bells of the xvii the century. They are laid and sheltered by timber frames.

The Tower now has a roof with a magnificent structure of the xvii the century, but before that, he did not exist until 1571.

From the walkway to the west, we have a good view the upper town, while to the east, the view is towards the lower town.

Bells

The tower is also used as a belfry, six original bells, five were broken and melted in 1793 and 1798, for the manufacture of guns and currency. The largest and the only remaining one has a diameter of 1.48 m and weighs 3 000 kg.

It bears the inscription: ” In the year 1511, having been melted / De Quiriace I was given the name, / I reign in the air and chase the cloud / Devil, thunder, and hail by my name“.

Interior

inside, on the ground floor, a large vaulted room served as a warehouse for stewardship.

On the upper floor, another room of the same size but higher, called “ward of the guards“, was the communication center of the tower.

From there, go down the stairs to the lower room, the governor’s room and the walkways.

The vault is perforated with a “service hole“, to communicate with the last walkway.

The dungeons where the prisoners were kept by narrow corridors caught in the thick walls are accessed.

The tower was covered in 1554, and the installation of the bells, coming from the tower-bell tower of the church Saint Quiriace collapsed, dates from 1689.

The small bell, meanwhile, dates from 1889.

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*This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Tour César (Provins)”, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0 (view authors).