Fort Saint Nicolas is on the left when facing the Old Port of Marseille. Fort Saint Nicolas is a military building used not so much to protect the city from invasions, but above all to protect itself from the people of Marseille and their independent and rebellious spirit. It faces Fort Saint Jean, located on the other side of the Old Port. He is a witness of Marseille's history.
Thus, in 1660, following a series of political unrest followed by revolts, Louis XIV ordered the deployment of troops and the construction of a citadel 'at the place in the city that would be considered the cleanest', i. e. to allow the surveillance of the city but also its defence against an attack coming from the sea.
The current location was therefore chosen, behind the Saint-Victor Abbey. On March 2, 1660, the construction site was launched during the King's visit. Given the size of the project and the nature of the building, the construction was completed in record time, in only 4 years.During the French Revolution, the crowd, suspicious of the threat, both physical and symbolic, that Fort Saint Nicolas could represent, began to destroy it. But the Assemblée Nationale, anxious to preserve a structure for the defence of the city, ordered to stop the demolition of the fortress and began its restoration. In 1860, Fort Saint Nicolas was cut in half by the route of the new Boulevard Charles Livon.
Today, the fortress is still in two parts, the portion bordering the sea has been named Fort Ganteaume and houses the military circle and the officers' mess. The part on the land side, the high fort, is called Fort d'Entrecasteaux. Only part of the complex is open to the public and can be visited. The opportunity to climb up the ramparts of this Monument de Marseille and admire the superb view they offer of the port and the city of Marseille. The complex has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1969.
The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.