Imaging a square with a side length of about 400 m. Inside there are streets and alleyways lined with houses, some places … all in a checkerboard pattern. In Southern France this type of city is called bastide. The square resp. the bastide is bordered by a high wall with impressive defense towers and 10 gates.
A village in this area was mentioned for the first time about 100 B. C. It expanded into a town with growing commerce … The bastide with the fortification was built from the 13th into the 15th century. It’s called Aigues-Mortes and it’s one of the biggest medieval fortifications fully preserved until today.
So … let’s enter the bastide and climb to the top of the wall, the crown of Aigues-Mortes.
Today the houses are modern, equipped with all standard amenities of today’s living. The streets are wide enough for traffic, although one-way-streets as a rule. The gates are open – to allow access to the bastide especially for the tourists. (There are extensive parking areas outside … However, in September the main season for tourists is over!)
Once on top of the wall you may walk around the bastide. It’s a nice walk of about 1.600 m where you may enjoy the view of the distant Mediterranean Sea resp. les Étangs and the channels like le Canal du Rhône à Sète. On the other side there is the sea of roofs of the bastide.
You also get a glimpse of the rest of Aigues-Mortes, the city outside of the bastide. (I couldn’t resist to take a photo of the gargoyles …) Finally there is the biggest defense tower, La Tour de Constance, which was the first manifestation of the planned fortification.
You may enter the tower by the stone bridge leading you safely across the moat, the water of which is green of algae. Inside the tower there is an elevator taking you to the top – so you may walk down lots of stairs from level to level inside the tower. The tower is infamous for becoming a prison later on in the 18th century during the Huguenot wars.
After walking the crown of Aigues-Mortes and the spiral stairs of the defense towers we descended into the streets of the bastide to find a nice place to eat and drink. There is a lively square place in the center where there is also the Hôtel de Ville. On the place you’ll find a statue of Louis IX of France, Saint Louis, who started developing the fortifications.
