A functional masterpiece

Located at the hollow of the deep Têt valley, the "petite villotte" (small town) was dominated on all sides. The medieval walls which stretch along the river were altered by Vauban in 1679.
The entire construction was revised by the engineer to ensure a better defence, and is made up of 3 different structures which mutually cover each other.
The town wall with its medieval towers was strengthened at the weak points and entirely crowned with a roof made from thick flagstones to protect it from enemy fire. The lower front was reinforced by a casemated grotto, the Cova Bastera, connected to the village by an underground stairway. Finally, in 1681, on the only high ground that the attacker could place cannons, Vauban built a fort, Fort Liberia, planned to hold a garrison of 96 soldiers.

Both in the quality of the building materials used and the adaptation to the existing buildings and to the terrain, the city of Villefranche-de-Conflent is a veritable masterpiece of fortification, still remarkably well-preserved today.