Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Fort Risban, located at the entrance of the port of Calais on Raymond Poincaré Avenue, was first mentioned in 1346 during the siege of the city by the English troops of Edward III. The latter, unable to break through the defences of Calais, erected a small wooden fort to block maritime supplies and starve the population. This strategic blockage marks the beginning of its key role in Franco-English conflicts for the control of the city.

Under English occupation, the wooden structure was replaced after 1400 by a stone tower, called Stone Tower and later Lancaster Tower. The fort remained in the hands of the English until 1558, when the Duke of Croÿ took over Calais for France. Its history reflects the geopolitical tensions of the time, between the kingdoms of France and England, then between France and the Spanish Netherlands, which took it briefly between 1596 and 1598.

Reconstructed in 1640, the fort was criticized by Vauban in the 1680s, who described it as a "house for owls", considering its military utility obsolete. Despite this, it was modified in the 19th century by the Engineers Corps and reused as an anti-aircraft shelter during the Second World War. Dismantled in 1908 as a maritime fortress, its architectural evolution bears witness to the successive adaptations to defensive needs, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

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