Fort Condé

Fort Condé, locally known as Ancien Fort Condé, lies west of the town of Givet, in the Ardennes department in France.

Fort Condé started out as a simple watch tower, called Maugis Tower, built on a rocky outcrop during the 16th/17th century. During the Spanish rule over Givet the tower was called Villahermosa Tower, after the governor of the Spanish Low Countries.

When, in 1680, Givet became French territory, the watch tower was torn down by Vauban, the famous military engineer. He then transformed the rock into a casemated redoubt.

Between 1725 and 1732 the redoubt was integrated into a larger new fortification; Fort Condé, built by the engineer Candau. The fort forms a pentagon whose perimeter is about 400 meters. The fort has hardly changed after that time. It was built to protect the northwest side of the larger nearby Fort Charlemont and was connected to it with a covered road.

At some point in time the Fort Condé was abandoned and was taken over by nature. This led to the fort slowly crumbling away due to trees and shrubs growing on its walls.

In 2008 a restoration project was started which is still ongoing at present. It can be visited with guided tours on certain days. A very nice fort. Fort Charlemont, Victoire Tower and Grégoire Tower are nearby.

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