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166:, to make the fortifications of Toulon strong enough to resist a British attack. Vauban described the Tour Royale as a "very beautiful work with several floors and batteries," but he considered it unfinished. He recommended adding another level of cannons, and a new battery at the foot of the tower, and lowering the hills around to give the gunners a clearer view of approaching enemy ships.
87:, led by the Connetable de Bourbon, when he invaded Provence. The Connetable avoided a long and costly siege by simply paying the commander of the fort 500 ecues to surrender. After the commander and garrison took their money and left, the fort was occupied by 300 Spanish mercenaries. This event led to the coining of an expression in Toulon, "to be sold like the Grosse Tour."
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at the request of the bishop of Toulon and of the
Senechal of Provence. It was placed on the cap de la Manegue, at the end of the pointe de la Mitre, where it could fire at any ships coming into the Rade. The design was by the Italian engineer Gian-Antonio della Porta. It was a classical example
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of 1870, the gold reserves of France were secretly stored inside the fort. During the First World War, it was used both as barracks and to intern German prisoners of war. During the Second World War, the fort was occupied by a German garrison. It was badly damaged by Allied bombings in 1943-1944.
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The Tour Royale was classified as an historic monument on April 11, 1947. The underground cells were filled in, and the chapel, barracks and hospital were removed, but the casemates, circular galleries and embrasures for the cannon still remain as they were.
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In 1770, a new fort, Fort
Lamalgue, was constructed at the harbor entrance, the Tour Royale was no longer as important for the defense of the port. It became primarily a place to lock up military prisoners, Corsican rebels, and, during the
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When the
Imperial army left, the fort was used to imprison the chevalier Bertrande de la Garde, who had fought for Charles V against Francis I. He was the first of many political prisoners to be held in the underground cells of the fort.
72:, a round tower with cannon, constructed around Renaissance Italy in the 16th century. The tower was sixty meters in diameter and seven meters thick. Construction began in 1514 and was finished in 1524, during the reign of
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In 1572, when the news of the massacre of
Protestants in Paris on St. Bartholomew's Day became known, the commander of the fort, Nicolas de Pignan, gave sanctuary to the Protestant families of Toulon within the fort.
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In 2004, the tower became a museum, and in 2006, it was transferred from the
Ministry of Defense to the city of Toulon. and opened to the public. A coastal path from the fort connects it to the beaches of Mourillon.
133:, and invited the Ottoman fleet to spend the winter in Toulon harbour. The Tour Royale was used to store all the artillery from the ramparts of Toulon, until the Ottoman fleet departed.
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As of
September 2010 the Tour Royale is open to the public from July 1 until October 31, on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 900 until 1200 and from 1400 until 1800.
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The Tour Royale is located at the southernmost point on the east side of the harbor entrance, near the base of the long jetty that now closes the harbor.
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The Tour was equipped with forty cannon, but Vauban's other improvements were not carried out. Nonetheless, in 1707, during the
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decided to strengthen the harbor defenses and had a second fort, Fort
Ballaguier, constructed opposite the Tour Royale.
173:, the Tour helped Toulon to successfully resist a combined attack and siege by a British-Dutch fleet and the army of
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Circular stairways lead down from the gun platform to the lower galleries and powder magazines of the Tour Royale
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In 1798 the future
Empress Josephine watched Napoleon's fleet sail to Egypt from the parapet of the Tour Royale
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52:) is a fort built in the 16th century to protect the entrance of the Petit Rade, the naval port of
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fleet wintering in the harbor of Toulon in 1543, with the Tour Royale (bottom right).
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80:. Because of its impressive size, the residents of Toulon called "La Grosse Tour."
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316:, visitors guide published by the city of Toulon, Second Edition, July 2010
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In 1596, during the wars of religion across France, the commander of the
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The tower had hardly been finished when it was captured by the army of
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visitor guide published by the city of Toulon, 2nd edition, July 2010
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visitor guide published by the city of Toulon, 2nd edition, July 2010
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56:. It was the first fortification of the harbor, built 22 years after
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watched the departure of the fleet from the Tour Royale.
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Vauban, "Memoire sur les fortifications de Toulon, 1679
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In 1679, Louis XIV sent his chief military architect,
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385:Buildings and structures in Var (department)
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40:is located at the entrance of Toulon harbor.
63:The fort was commissioned in 1513 by King
28:The Tour Royal, Toulon, seen from the Rade
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20:The Tour Royale in Toulon (16th century)
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390:Tourist attractions in Var (department)
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327:Vauban a Toulon - l'arsenal et la rade
125:In 1543, Francis I formed a temporary
314:La Tour Royale et son parc paysager
276:La Tour Royale et son parc paysager
251:La Tour Royale et son parc paysager
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395:1513 establishments in France
298:Toulon - l'arsenal et la rade
264:Toulon - port royal 1481-1789
171:War of the Spanish Succession
85:Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
321:Toulon, port royal 1481-1789
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144:, who had remained loyal to
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375:Military history of Toulon
319:Michel Vergé-Franceschi,
60:became a part of France.
323:, Tallandier, Paris 2002
131:Suleiman the Magnificent
129:with the Ottoman Sultan
127:Franco-Ottoman alliance
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351:43.10278°N 5.92583°E
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266:, Tallandier, 2002.
74:Francis I of France
300:(see bibliography)
262:Vergé-Franceschi,
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190:Napoleon Bonaparte
157:Cardinal Richelieu
146:Henry IV of France
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356:43.10278; 5.92583
209:Franco-German War
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207:During the
46:Tour Royale
38:Tour Royale
369:Categories
99:Barbarossa
342:5°55′33″E
339:43°6′10″N
296:Vauban a
227:Citations
155:In 1634,
150:Marseille
65:Louis XII
70:Torrioni
58:Provence
103:Ottoman
78:florins
164:Vauban
54:Toulon
68:of a
44:The
36:The
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235:^
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