A Spanish Fortress on French Soil | 法国领土上的西班牙堡垒

I once blogged about Ceuta, Spain's enclave in North Africa. In this post, let's have a look at a Spanish fortress on French soil.

Fortress of Salses is located in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of southern France. It used to be the frontier of France and Spain guarding between the mountains and the Mediterranean lagoons.

One evening last month, we approached it at sunset, and I was very much impressed by this imposing masterpiece at first sight. Its grand structure and ochre color looked especially striking in the warm sunlight. The style seemed to be between a medieval castle and a modern fortress.

Since it's already closed then, I just shot some photos from outside, and stayed nearby that night. The following morning, I came to the fortress again at sunrise, so I got both of the golden hours for the best lighting. Later, we visited the interiors as well. As it's such a massive complex which I took half a day to tour around, I will first show you its moat and ramparts today.

In my next post, I am going to guide you through its inner courtyard and chambers. The fortress includes sections such as a chapel, barrack rooms, infirmary, valve chamber, bakery and dairy rooms, underground passageway, stable and cowshed... There were also exhibition rooms displaying its history and natural environment of present day.

Though this fortress is on the French soil now, it was commissioned by King Ferdinand II of Aragon, to defend Roussillon region, the then Spanish territory. It cost a whopping 1/5 of their annual budget! The project was led by Francisco Ramiro Lopez between 1497 and 1506, designed to protect against the new threat posed by metal cannonballs. The round towers and giant walls are typical of Spanish military architecture that time.

Three years before its completion, the Spanish resisted a first siege, but in 1639, it was captured by the French, then recaptured by the Spanish the following year. ...Here I'm skipping some rounds of sieges and recaptures common in history... Finally, after the border was pushed back to the Pyrénées in 1659, the fortress lost its strategic importance. 2 decades later, Louis XIV turned it into a prison, and then some restoration work was carried out led by his famous military engineer Vauban. It has been listed as a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture since modern times.

Besides visiting the whole complex at your own pace, you can join a guided tour for about 1 hour. It always took me much longer as a photography enthusiast who loves to check out all the details. It's pretty amazing to see those innovative designs from a few centuries ago. There is specially adapted guided tours for disabled visitors as well. When we visited that day, I saw a group of kids walking around accompanied by their teachers. I believe it's a great place for them to visit too. Except for vivid cartoon illustrations on the wall depicting people's daily life inside the fortress, you can even find fun ancient games to play in one of the chambers.

我曾经写过西班牙在北非的飞地Ceuta，这次我们再来看看法国领土上的一处西班牙堡垒。

萨尔塞斯堡垒位于法国南部的比利牛斯-东方地区，这里曾是法国和西班牙的边境，在山脉和地中海泻湖之间。上个月的一个傍晚，远远就看到这座醒目的建筑，走近后，赭色的宏大结构在暖暖的夕阳光线下渐渐铺开在眼前，非常惊艳。

那时已经关门，我就在外面转了一圈，拍了些照片。因为黄金时段的光线照在这古堡上太美，不容错过，第二天早上日出时，就又来到这里，接着花了半天时间参观了内部。这建筑群的风格介于中世纪城堡和现代堡垒之间，因为里面实在太大，今天先来展示一下它外部的护城河和城墙。

内部还有庭院、小教堂、军营房、医务室、阀门室、面包房、奶制品房、地下通道、马厩、牛棚、展示历史和自然环境的展览室等，看得我连连惊叹那几百年前就存在的很多创新设计。其中一间房里，还放着很有意思的古代游戏供我们游客玩。

虽然这座堡垒现在在法国领土上，但它是由阿拉贡国王费迪南德二世委托弗朗西斯科·拉米罗·洛佩兹建造的，用来保卫当时的西班牙领土鲁西永地区。堡垒1497到1506年建成，花费了整个年度预算的1/5。圆塔和巨大的城墙是当时西班牙军事建筑的典型代表，旨在抵御金属炮弹带来的新威胁。历史上经过法国西班牙两边很多回合的攻守抢占，在1659年西班牙战败、边界被推到比利牛斯山脉后，这座堡垒就失去了重要的战略地位。20多年后，法王路易十四当权期间，堡垒成为一座监狱，后来由他的军事工程师沃邦领导进行了一些修复工作。当今，这座壮观的建筑已被法国文化部列为受保护的历史古迹。

At sunset on the first day:
第一天的黄昏时分: