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Bortuste's dread à Urrugne dans les Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Fortification
Redoute
Pyrénées-Atlantiques

Bortuste's dread

    La redoute de Bortuste
    64122 Urrugne
Crédit photo : Auteur inconnu - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1793-1794
Franco-Spanish battles
1808-1814
Napoleonic wars in Spain
1813
Invasion of Wellington
31 décembre 1992
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Bortuste Redoute (Case I 271): entry by order of 31 December 1992

Key figures

Maréchal Soult - French military commander Organized the border defence in 1813-1814.
Duc de Wellington - Head of the coalition troops Directed the invasion of 1813 in the Basque Country.
Francis Gaudeul - General and historian Studyed and drew the dreads of Urrugne.

Origin and history

Bortuste's dread is part of a set of four dreads erected in Urrugne at the beginning of the 19th century, between the hamlet of Béhobie and the reliefs near the Rhune. These structures, with irregular geometrical planes, were built of limestone and surrounded by ditches. They were used to defend the French-Spanish border, particularly during the Napoleonic wars (1808-1814) and earlier clashes (1793-1795).

These fortifications bear witness to the violent fighting that marked Urrugne, especially in 1793-1794, where the battles destroyed homes and farms. The dreads were restored and reused during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, then faced with the advance of the Duke of Wellington's troops in 1813. Their role was crucial to controlling the collars and strategic points like Ibardin or Mount Mandalé.

Today, Bortuste's dread, like those of Louis XIV, Bayonnette and Emigrés, remains partially, although often covered with vegetation. These vestiges recall the turbulent military history of the Basque Country and the destruction suffered by local populations. The municipal registers of Urrugne keep traces of the claims for the reconstruction of the burnt farms until 1843.

The dread has been listed in the Historical Monuments since 1992, emphasizing its heritage importance. It illustrates Marshal Soult's defensive strategies against Anglo-Hispano-Portuguese coalitions, in a context of recurrent border wars. Francis Gaudeul's sketches, published in 1989, help restore his original structure.

External links