Ramparts of Vannes

The Ramparts of Vannes are the fortifications erected between the 3rd and 17th centuries to protect the city of Vannes in the Morbihan department in France. Founded by the Romans at the end of the 1st century BC under the reign of Augustus, the civitas Venetorum was forced to protect itself behind a castrum at the end of the 3rd century, during a major crisis shaking the Roman Empire. This first enclosure remained the city’s only protection for over a millennium. During the time of Duke John IV, at the end of the 14th century, the city’s enclosure was rebuilt and extended southward to protect the new districts. The duke wanted to make Vannes not only a place of residence but also a stronghold he could rely on in case of conflict. The area of the city intra-muros was doubled, and the duke added his Château de l’Hermine to the new enclosure. The Wars of the League at the end of the 14th century forced the city to equip itself with several polygonal bastions (Gréguennic, Haute-Folie, Brozilay, Notre-Dame). The Garenne spur was the last defensive structure built in Vannes around 1630.