History of Fort de Bouc

"Bouc" comes from Provençal meaning "mouth".
The Fort de Bouc is located more precisely at the mouth of the Caronte canal which connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Etang de Berre. It is accessed by boat, access being regulated.

Our visit begins at the port of the Martigues Tourist Office in the company of Justine, our guide for the day. The crossing (6km, 30 minutes) will quickly make us understand that Martigues is a city set on water, with two paradoxical faces of the 17th and 20th centuries.

The departure is in front of the Ile district, a real island inhabited since prehistoric times and consolidated by stones from La Couronne in antiquity by the Gauls.

Justine tells us the story of Martigues during the crossing
In the Middle Ages, Martigues included several sèdes - these parallel tongues of land in the direction of the channel formed by currents and arranged by men - which were used to set up the bourdigues, these ingenious fishing systems designed as fish traps built in reed hurdles.

Our trip therefore takes us near Calen, one of the last in France and still active in Martigues. On the same site for a century, it ensures the sustainability of one of its renowned culinary traditions: bottarga (dried muge eggs used as an aperitif or as an accompaniment to pasta).

In the distance, the railway viaduct looms, the first sign of 20th century modernity.
Built in 1908, it will engage the territory towards oil projects from the 1920s.

The long quay on our right houses an old factory where oil and soap were produced in 1923. The Verminck factory very quickly became the city's largest employer with a very diverse workforce in terms of geographic origin. It closed in 1985.

Finally, the Fort de Bouc stands in front of us perching on its island (L'Ile de Bouc), an unassailable rock, surmounted by a medieval square tower.

You enter Fort de Bouc via a half-moon which aims to protect the curtain wall, the most fragile element of the fort.
A ditch is carved into the rock which is probably partly submerged when the sea is high.
We follow our guide and cross it by a fixed bridge and a lifting bridge.

Above our heads, an eroded coat of arms announces the color.
On the bridge, we take the opportunity to have a global vision of the fort. We learn that it belonged to the lords of Fos in the 11th century.
It will then experience several architectural evolutions over the centuries.

We enter the Fort to find ourselves in a vaulted passage. Above the vault, the room of the guards is there. It was used as a stunner (the soldiers threw pebbles or boiling lime into it to defend themselves).

Justine tells us that an organ system was used to secure the drawbridge; and not a system of harrows in accordance with traditional forts. You can also see firing embrasures (corners that correspond with the casemate). This passage is the only possible access to the Place d'Armes.

We access the central courtyard and find ourselves at the foot of the massive square tower that we can see when we arrive by boat.

While the fort had been ceded to the Marseillais in exchange for non-attack, they will be driven out towards the beginning of the 13th century. On the death of the last count of Provence in 1481 (Charles d'Anjou), the King of France (Louis XI) took the opportunity to claim the lands of Provence, including the Fort de Bouc.

In the 17th century, the fort became a state prison where political prisoners were locked up.
It welcomed Laurent de Colloris (president of the parliament of Aix), imprisoned for having revolted against Richelieu but also for having supported Gaston d'Orléans. This was also the case of Prince Casimir (King of Poland) for espionage.

Later, Vauban was commissioned by Louis XIV to improve the defenses of Fort de Bouc by adding ramparts whose shape made it possible not to be surprised during an attack because there was no blind spot. We also owe Vauban the development of new "comforts": accommodation for officers, a chapel and a sacristy as well as the transformation of a store into a canteen. We also owe him the development of a barracks and two casemates (fortified rooms).

It is precisely our next meeting place during the visit.