View of the citadel

From 1648 Belfort was ruled by the King of France, Louis XIV. In 1679, the military engineer Vauban visited the town and designed plans for new fortifications to be built. His work can still be seen, the Gate of Breisach (Porte de Brisach), built in 1687, is particularly impressive. The fortifications designed by Vauban included two gates, the Breisach Gate and the France Gate (destroyed in 1892). Each gate was protected by a demi-lune (or ravelin), a triangular fortification in front of the innerworks of the Belfort fortress. The Breisach Gate’s ravelin is linked to the bastion by a bridge spanning the trenches.

More than just a military construction, the Breisach Gate of Belfort was designed in a way to bring glory to the King of France, Louis XIV. Several ornamental embellishments still testify to this endeavour: fleurs-de-lis surmounted by the royal crown, and engraved in the pediment, the sun (emblem of King Louis XIV, the Sun King) and his Latin motto “nec pluribus impar” (none can be compared to him).