The citadel of Seyne is located north of the town of Seyne the Alps, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, 40 km north-east of Digne-les-Bains.
Already endowed with medieval fortifications, the city which is then border of Savoy is judged insufficiently protected by Vauban, the great engineer and military architect of Louis XIV.
In 1691, he erected a citadel that follows the crest of a rocky outcrop and thus dominates the ramparts and bastions that have been reinforced. The narrow, elongated shape of the citadel is in fact adapted to the particular relief of the land and includes a 12th century tower inherited from the military works of the Middle Ages. Protecting the small city at its feet, the citadel rebuilt in the eighteenth lost strategic interest in the next century and threatening ruin, eventually being bought by the city during the twentieth century.
Its maintenance and its development are entrusted to an association.
The site was classified as a Historic Monument in 1978.
Free or guided visit including the 12th century tower from which one enjoys a superb panorama, the undergrounds, parts of armament or works of art. Price: 5 or 6 euros. Information on +33 4 92 35 31 66.
