In 2002 the boulevard De Lattre was transformed and during this work ramparts from the 14th century once again saw the light of day.
Up until the 19th century this wall marked the southern edge of the town. Military engineers abandoned the section linking the Moulin Gate with the Navarre Tower in 1886. A few years later the town destroyed the fortifications and filled in the ditches in order to construct an imposing school whose buildings are still in use (to the right). 7 - Former Seminary
1673-1687
This huge building contained 74 rooms for the use of future priests to the diocese during the time of their instruction. Established on a piece of land which led as far as the chemin de ronde (the covered walkway around the ramparts), this building gave on to a huge garden. Its facade on the road, enlivened by a forward central section, was originally flanked by a passage which, straddling the road, linked the building to the chapel. The facade still shows signs of its past in its dormer windows, capped by triangular pediments which break up the cornice at regular intervals.
8 - Former Chapel of the Oratorians
1676. Converted into a theatre in 1838
In 1616, Bishop Sebastien Zamet asked the Oratorian congregation to direct his seminary, there to prepare priests for the diocese. In return he gave the new arrivals land and the buildings of the former Saint-Amâtre priory situated in the southern part of the town. The chapel was not consecrated until 1676. Of sober dimensions, layout and decoration, the main doorway is framed by an Ionic portico above which is a pediment.
The chapel was transformed into a theatre in 1838 after having been abandoned during the revolution. Exterior decoration pays homage to this new use: masks, musical instruments and scores are seen on the pediment.
Completely renovated in 2000, the theatre can seat 250 people.
10 - Former Saint-Amâtre Church The presence of a priory and a hospital on this site is recorded from the 9th century. In the 13th century the church became the Parish Church serving the south east of the town. In the 14th century the Fraternities of Wool Weavers and Stonecutters, took up residence in this quarter, evidence of the artisanal character of this part of the town. Abandoned during the revolution, this building is now home to the Cheval Blanc Hotel, where there is still to be seen evidence of its former past: arched windows, grooved pilasters and gargoyles.
16 - The Church of St Martin
Listed building 13th century
Recorded from the 11th century, the priory of St Martin was initially outside the town walls. This quarter would not be fully integrated (by the extension of the walls) into the town until the mid-14th century. The present church is the result of several building campaigns, from the 14th-18th centuries. From the first period dates the choir and the majority of the bays of the nave. From the end of the mediaeval period dates the hanging keystone of the nave.
The fire of 1725 was the occasion to transform the building, part of which was the doubling of the side-aisles in the gothic style of the originals. The Langres architect, Claude Forgeot, reserved his most creative work for the facade. Symmetric and sober, the focus is on the surroundings of the doorway which is set forward and decorated in the Ionic order, and capped by an arched pediment. The single bell-tower does not, however, conform to this symmetric rigour; had Forgeot a second tower in mind? The tower is 52 metres high with four distinct levels. The first respects the sobriety of the facade, the second is blind and is confined by pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The third, open with bays equipped with soundboards (for the bells) has pilasters with composite capitals. The ensemble is rounded off by a campanile, richly decorated by fire pots and pilasters, of which the lower parts are transformed into corbels.
Such a rich abundance lends this monument the most Italian touch to be found in the area.
31 - Bishop’s Palace
1712-1722
The building of this mansion dates back to François de Clermont-Tonnerre, Bishop of Langres from 1695 to 1724. Private and more intimate than the old, imposing bishop’s palace built between the cathedral and the east ramparts, this petit évêché was home to all the bishops of Langres during the 18th century. It is made up of two dwellings served by a monumental stairway to the left. Behind, there are garden terraces, which offer a panoramic view over the Marne valley.
35 - Gate of the Windmills
Listed building 1647
This gate owes its name to the earlier presence of windmills which were built outside the city walls in order to benefit from the wind (the "bel’air" which has given its name to the square (place Bel Air). The gate is part of the fortifications built between 1642 and 1647 to the south of the urban limits. The war-like decor evokes the outcome of the Thirty Years War between France and Spain, a denouement that favoured France. Trophies of weapons, plumed helmets and enemies in chains make of this gate a monument to the glorious victories of the monarchy, a gate that evokes the triumphal arches of the Roman period. Hammered out during the Revolution, the coat of arms of the King was set in the centre of the pediment.
Originally formed by a gateway for carts and carriages, and two smaller ones for pedestrians, it was transformed in 1855 by military engineers who added a second carriage gate and removed the drawbridge.
Former Gate of the Windmills Destroyed
This was the principal gate to the south of the city. Built in the middle of the 14th century, the gate known as "du Moulin-a-Vent" was destroyed in 1857. During three centuries it co-existed with the present Porte de Moulins built further to the south in 1647. In a quadrangular form and equipped with a guardroom and a Gothic arch, it opened onto the former cardo maximus of the Gallo-Roman town (today’s rue Diderot). This North-South axis has been since this time the major thoroughfare. Lined mostly by dwellings from the 17th and 18th centuries, the majority have now a commercial use on the ground floor (shops etc).
36 - Terreaux Gate
Listed building – 1855
The construction of this gate is the work of military engineers, who wished to avoid military convoys having to cross the town. To achieve this, a boulevard (present-day De Lattre) was laid down as far as the Windmill Gate (porte des Moulins). This gate had a double opening, and a double drawbridge to cross the defensive ditch. Called "Poncelot", after its inventor, the drawbridge used a heavy chain as a counterbalance. As the bridge was lifted, an increasing length of chain was laid in the ditch, thus balancing the weight. Some of this mechanism can still be seen today.
The gate is crowned by a machicolation, which lends a mediaeval note to the structure.
40 - The Navarre and Orval Towers
Listed building Roof from 1825
This building is situated on a piece of land, called ‘le champ de Navarre’, today a camping ground, which originally belonged to the Count of Champagne, who was also King of Navarre. It is an artillery tower on a monumental scale. Its diameter of 28 metres, its height of 20 metres, and 20 openings for firing spread over four levels make for a most outstanding structure. The walls are up to seven metres thick and house two strongly vaulted chambers with openings for defence. Artillery placed on the terrace would have protected the plateau forward of the Moulin Gate. More or less finished in 1515 after only four years of work, another 2.5 metres were added in order to increase the range of the cannon placed on the terrace. This addition, decided during construction work, necessitated a second level of gargoyles and the construction of a second tower - the Orval Tower - that housed a spiral ramp. This enabled cannon to be taken up to the terrace of the Navarre Tower safe from enemy fire.
In 1825 military engineers transformed the tower into a powder store. A conical roof was added to protect the lower chambers from the elements.
44 - Red tower and Trough Gate
Listed building Mid 14th and mid 19th centuries
Today nothing more than a forward flank to the ramparts, the Red Tower, to the right, was built in the mid 14th century during the incorporation of the southern districts into the protective embrace of the town walls. Justified by the beginning of the Hundred Year War, these new fortifications gave Langres its final boundary, until the middle of the 20th century. Having a square plan, it originally had embrasures and a roof. The original bossed facing gives it an ochre hue, thus the probable origin of its name. The tower was filled in during the changes made to the ramparts in the middle of the19th century. This period saw the construction of the porte des Auges that gave onto the fortifications linking the old town to the new citadel built to the south between 1842 and 1860. A small tower placed on the top of the wall served as a warning to approaching enemies.
In the late 1960’s, the building of the Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs (residence for young workers needing somewhere to live) was the chance to excavate the area which gave rise to the discovery of a artisans quarter from the Gallo-Roman period. Beyond are the buildings from the end of the 1950’s. These were built to house workers of the newly constructed factories in the Marne valley.
46 - The Tower of St Ferjoux
Listed building - Circa 1470
This tower bears the name of a priory, situated on the place Saint-Ferjoux, which was demolished in 1673. This tower replaced a structure dating from the middle of the 14th century. This former tower was square and of modest proportions, and was judged ill-adapted to the new and larger artillery of the day. At the end of the 15th century the tower was demolished and its place taken by a new cylindrical artillery tower. First of its type to be built in Langres, its structure was radically different. The walls are very thick, up to six metres in places; the two vaulted rooms are equipped with eight openings for the shooting of weapons and the summit terrace housed large calibre cannon used to protect the southern flanks of the fortifications.
Army engineers rebuilt the parapet and repaired the facing by replacing damaged bosses during the restoration of the tower in1844.
Since 1989 the terrace has been home to a sculpture, the work of Dutch artist Eugene Van Lamsweerde, called "L’air et les songes" (Air and Dreams), a homage to the philosopher Gaston Bachelard, born in the Champagne region.
48 - Surchoue Tower
Listed building 1412. Modified 1854
All that remains of this tower is its trapezoid outline, it having been filled in around the middle of the 19th century. It owed its name to nearby rue Surchoue, which was transformed in 1855 into the present-day boulevard De Lattre.
Before 1412, defence of the wall was assured by a structure called a ‘Chaffaud’, a wooden construction crowning and hanging over the rampart. Its replacement by a tower, called for stone, which came from a quarry to the south of the town, a place called Blanchefontaine. The roof was in flat stones, called Laves, which came from the village of Perrancey, about ten kilometres away.
Office de Tourisme du Pays de Langres - BP16 - 52201 Langres cedex - Tél : 03 25 87 67 67 - Fax : 03 25 87 73 33
6 - Ramparts from the 14th century
7 - Former Seminary
8 - Former Chapel of the Oratorians
16 - The Church of St Martin
35 - Gate of the Windmills
36 - Terreaux Gate
40 - The Navarre and Orval Towers
44 - Red tower and Trough Gate
46 - The Tower of St Ferjoux
The map of the Quarter