Construction authorization vers 1405 (≈ 1405)
Archbishop of Arles allows the ramparts
1840
Partial destruction
Partial destruction 1840 (≈ 1840)
Opening for cholera epidemic
28 mai 1993
Official protection
Official protection 28 mai 1993 (≈ 1993)
Registration of ramparts as a monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Remparts proper constituting the city's enclosure, including the gates called: northern gate or gate of Istres, door of the Esperettes, southern poternode, so-called southern gate of Martigues as well as the parts not visible (cf. D 302 to 306, 308, 319 to 322, 341, 360, 391 to 395, 404, 406, 477 to 485, 517, 518, 547, 548, 551, 568): registration by order of 28 May 1993
Key figures
Archevêque d’Arles - Religious Authority
Authorizes construction around 1405
Origin and history
The enclosure of Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts was built mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries, after a permission given around 1405 by the Archbishop of Arles. This bulwark was intended to protect the village, which was then developing in the heart of a network of ponds (Berre, Citis, du Po). The houses of this time, still well preserved, bear witness to this continuous urban expansion.
A particular boom phase was observed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, consolidating the strategic importance of the site. In the 19th century, part of the ramparts was destroyed to create openings during the cholera epidemic of 1840. Despite these changes, the whole has remained homogeneous and protected since 1993, including doors and poternes.
The village, whose origin did not go back beyond the 12th century, was structured around these fortifications. The ramparts, now partially private and communal, illustrate the adaptation of a Provençal city to the defensive and sanitary stakes throughout the centuries.
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