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Origin and history

The Fort Lock, originally called "Fort of the Cluse", is built on the site of a castle built by the Sires of Gex at the beginning of the 13th century. It was enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries, and then profoundly reshaped in the 19th century to adapt to the evolution of artillery. Located between the Grand Crêt d'Eau mountain and the Rhone, it locks the strategic parade of the Lock, west of the Geneva basin. The site even incorporates the road into its walls from 1720 to 1933, before the piercing of a road tunnel.

In ancient times, the Cluse parade was already a key passage between the Swiss territories and the Roman provinces. Julius Caesar describes him in La Guerre des Gaules as a "close and difficult road", dominated by a high mountain. In -58, he built a fortification line to block the migratory Helvets, but no works were built at the present site of the fort.

In the Middle Ages, the site belongs to the monks of Saint-Claude, who infederate in 1225 at Amédée II de Gex. The latter built a tower (the so-called "Tour de César"), transformed into a strong house to control the toll on the commercial road between Leman and Bellegarde. In 1293, the site was sold to the Count of Savoy Amédée V, marking his role in the conflicts between Dauphiné and Savoy (1282–155). The strong house then becomes a castle.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the fort was targeted by the Bernese and French during the wars for the Marquisate of Saluces. After the Treaty of Lyon (1601), which ceded the country of Gex to France, the fort was modernized: widening ditches, added flames, and a second enclosure integrating the road (1720–1723). The garrison is then composed of invalids. Between 1814 and 1815, the fort suffered four assaults during the Napoleonic wars, passing alternately under Austrian and French control.

In the 19th century, the fort was rebuilt and strengthened under the leadership of battalion leader Soyer (from 1820). A second work is added in height, connected by an underground gallery of 1,165 steps with shooting positions. Despite these developments, the annexation of Savoie to France in 1860 reduced its strategic importance. During the First World War, he served as a surveillance post to Switzerland.

During World War II, the fort was a key point in the defence sector of the Rhône (Maginot line). In June 1940, the garrison resisted Germans before being taken prisoner. Occupied by the Nazis and taken over by the guerrillas in 1944, it became a detention centre for German prisoners until 1947. Abandoned in 1960, he was rescued by an association in 1978 and then bought in 1981 by the intermunicipal union of the country of Gex. Today, the site is open to the public and offers tours, exhibitions and adventure routes.

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