Fort de La Prée, built in 1625, is located near the eastern end of the Île de Ré. It was built by Royalist Army after they conquered the are from Huguenots during the Wars of Religion. They used materials salvaged from the remains of the Romanesque abbey of the Châteliers'.
The Duke of Buckingham ignored Fort de La Prée during his three-month siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré in 1627. This neglect turned out to be a strategic error. Toiras managed to land troops there, and from there force the English to give up their siege and withdraw in defeat.
The fort subsequently underwent modifications under the oversight of several engineers: François Blondel (1664), Louis-Nicolas de Clerville (1672), Le Favolière, and finally Sainte-Colombe (1676). They added the gate, a barracks for 200 soldiers outside the walls, and some other outside works.
In 1685, Vauban, the preeminent engineer of the time, had François Ferr raze parts of the original fort, particularly the keep and the outworks that enclosed the entire fort.
The fort was later abandoned before being re-established in 1793. During the latter part of the 19th century, the external barracks were demolished. In 1875, the fort's covered way had sheltered passages added. The fort was decommissioned circa 1900.
During World War II the Germans occupied the fort. They added some blockhouses in the ramparts and on the seafront. From 1948, the fort became the administrative block for a development of vacations homes, but was closed in 1977.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.