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Origin and history

The citadel of Pont-Saint-Esprit extends over a vast perimeter surrounded by high walls, housing modern buildings at the level of the inner courtyard and, below towards the river, remains of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The latter came from the former hospital of the Bridge Work, completed around 1333, of which only the portal of the chapel remains, parts of the north coasts and scattered fragments. These elements, integrated into the later fortifications, demonstrate the re-use of medieval structures, probably under the direction of Vauban, although its intervention is not explicitly confirmed.

The medieval hospital, whose walls were covered or doubled during the construction of the fortifications, also included the church Notre-Dame-du-Plan, begun around 1310. Its portal, funded by Louis XI in 1474, is distinguished by adorned vestments and a rubble decorated with roses. Forty statuettes once occupied the semicircular niches of the facade, while pinacle arches embellished the south wall. The present citadel was built from 1584 to 1592 on the orders of Colonel d'Ornano, then reworked in 1621 before being partially ruined by the 1944 bombings.

The house of the Work, or house of the King, located at the entrance of the bridge, was built around 1310 and rebuilt in the 15th century. The underground rooms, surmounted by modern buildings (workshops, weapons depots), illustrate the military evolution of the site. Among the protected elements are the gate of the chapel, foothills, doors to you, and archatures, classified or inscribed in the Historical Monuments between 1910 and 1951. The citadel, owned by the commune, thus preserves traces of its hospitable, religious and defensive past.

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