Concarneau (in Breton, Konk Kerne or Bay of Cornwall) is most interesting for its old walled section called the Ville Close which sits on an island in the middle of the town's harbour and is accessible only by drawbridge. The end of the Ville Close was heavily fortified against invasion, initially in the 12th Century but more seriously in the 1600s by a fella called Vauban who built a number of fortifications of this type. Seeing Badoosh's pictures of the redoubt in Plymouth reminded me of it, so here are some pics
This is what you first see when you cross the drawbridge
Once inside you need to walk to the far end of the island to see the main fortifications
Down here there are lots of embrasures that were used for heavy artillery, some still with their original iron fixings
There are also lots of little passages and tunnels, some of which are inaccessible
Perhaps most interesting though, are the ramparts. Vauban deliberately made them irregular, by putting two or three different uneven layers of stone at the top. The reason for this (and apparently it was very effective) was that it made it very difficult for the enemy to judge the height of the wall if they want to scale it - and you can see this irregularity in the last shot below
Enjoy
GDZ
This is what you first see when you cross the drawbridge
Once inside you need to walk to the far end of the island to see the main fortifications
Down here there are lots of embrasures that were used for heavy artillery, some still with their original iron fixings
There are also lots of little passages and tunnels, some of which are inaccessible
Perhaps most interesting though, are the ramparts. Vauban deliberately made them irregular, by putting two or three different uneven layers of stone at the top. The reason for this (and apparently it was very effective) was that it made it very difficult for the enemy to judge the height of the wall if they want to scale it - and you can see this irregularity in the last shot below
Enjoy
GDZ
