The Fort of Beauregard is a fortification located in the French city of

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

. It is now a historic monument and is open to the public during Heritage Days.

History

After two wars (in 1674 when

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

took the city from the Spanish, and in 1814 when Austria declared war on

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

), the French military decided to build a fort on

Bregille Bregille () is a district of the French city of Besançon, located on the right bank of the Doubs, south-east of the historic center. It has developed on the eponymous hill Bregille which culminates at 458 meters, almost 200 meters above the river l ...

hill, to defend the old city of Besançon. This hill is higher than the principal fortification of the city, the citadel of Besançon. Because the hill's strategic position had been used against the city in the past, the necessity for a real military defense there had become evident, and so the fort was built. The first fort on the site was built in 1791; it was captured in 1814 during the

Six Days' Campaign The Six Days Campaign (10–15 February 1814) was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon I of France as the Sixth Coalition closed in on Paris. The Six Days Campaign was fought from 10 February to 15 February during which time ...

. To improve the city's defences,

Jacob François Marulaz Jacob François Marulaz or Marola, born 6 November 1769, died 10 June 1842, joined the Army of the Kingdom of France as a cavalry trooper and rose to become a field officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. Under the First French Empire, he bec ...

had another fort built on the site. It may have taken its name from a farm by that name dating back at least to he 217th century. After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the French government undertook the building of a defensive line of forts at Dijon, Langres, Besançon, Reims, Laon, and La Fère. Fort de Beuregard was built between 1877 and 1881, and was the first

polygonal fort A polygonal fort is a type of fortification originating in France in the late 18th century and fully developed in Germany in the first half of the 19th century. Unlike earlier forts, polygonal forts had no bastions, which had proved to be vulnerabl ...

in France. Fort de Beauregard - Entrée 3

The fort was used little, if at all, during the First World War. During the Second World War, the German Occupation forces sited anti-aircraft batteries there to support the

Dijon Air Base Dijon-Longvic Air Base (french: Base aérienne 102 Dijon, ) was a French Air Force (french: Armée de l'Air) air base. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Longvic; about southeast of Paris. Operating as a joint civilian base ...

near

Longvic Longvic () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population Personalities Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scott ...

. After the war the fort served as a depot for airbase "102" at Longvic until 1984. The military then essentially abandoned the fort, which became overgrown with vegetation. The military put the fort up for sale in 1997. The SIVOM of

Saulon-la-Chapelle Saulon-la-Chapelle () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The commu ...

purchased it in 1798; the commune of Fénay purchased it on 28 July 2003. Since then the fort has benefited from clearing, cleaning, and clearing projects that have revealed its military heritage. A decree of 17 March 2006 declared the fort an historic monument.