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Fort Nieulay was constructed as a defence
for the
city of Calais. After the taking of Calais by the English (1346), sluices were constructed to act as water defences. A fort was built to protect them in 1525). In case of attack the defenders of the fort could destroy the sluices, flooding the area of Calais and repelling attack. In January 1558, the troops of the Duc de Guise attacked the fort, the sluices were not destroyed and Calais was freed. In 1596 to 1598, the Spanish occupied Calais and made some changes in the fort. They decreased the height of the towers to avoid damage from cannon, artillery had made enormous progress. In April and May of 1677 Louis XIV and Vauban visited Calais. They decided to reinforce the defences of the city. Fort Nieulay was rebuilt completely astride the river with sluices that were placed inside the fort, to protect them. Fort Nieulay was isolated in the country. The city of Calais was a lot smaller than now, a lot of districts didn't exist, Calais itself was limited to the present Calais - North. The defence of Calais was completed by banks of earth of about 2 metres on which were placed cannons). The inside of the fort was arranged for soldiers and included: - An arsenal (weapons and munitions) - Stores (reserves of food etc.) - A cistern - A chapel. It lost it's importance progressively, a drain was constructed under the road to Boulogne, to evacuate the waters of Calais. From 1815 to 1870 the fort was abandoned and deteriorated. In 1903 the fort was sold, then rented to farmers. In 1940 at the time of the German invasion the fort was defended by a few score soldiers. They only lasted a few hours. In 1944 Canadian soldiers delivered Calais and freed Fort Nieulay. After the war, the owners of the fort exploited the banks of pebbles on which the first building had been constructed. The ramparts of the old fort increasingly fell into decay. The city of Calais then became owner of the fort. A big program of renovations was undertaken to, repair the battlements, fill in the ponds, build an urban park and restore the works inside. After a lot of adventures the old fort has become a quiet, green place for walkers. |
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