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Origin and history

The ramparts of Compiègne correspond to an urban enclosure built in the 9th century, then rebuilt in the 13th century and strengthened in the 16th and 17th centuries. Originally, during the reign of Charles II the Chauve, the first Carolingian rampart protected a small portion of the present city, including the Change and Town Hall squares, as well as the King's Court. The rue des Cordeliers follows the location of a ditch in this first enclosure.

Under the Capetians, the expansion of the city led to the construction of new ramparts, completed under Philippe Auguste between 1205 and 1212. The enclosure then had 19 to 44 towers, according to the sources. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, under Henry II and Henry III, bastions were added to modernize fortifications. After 1678, the decommissioning of the ramparts under Louis XV led to their transformation into gardens, while the royal castle was rebuilt on their foundations.

Today, there is only a portion of 300 metres of court and four towers. The ramparts garden, built in 1923 by Ferdinand Bac, occupies the site of the old ditches (16 m wide, 10 m deep). This municipal garden, decorated with a maze of boxwood, offers a walk in the heart of the city. The remains have been listed as historical monuments since 1951.

The preserved walls, in rough rubble, have semi-round towers spaced regularly. Their present state reflects the successive changes, from medieval fortifications to landscape arrangements in modern times.

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