THE RAMPARTS AND THE SAINT-MICHEL GATE
The ramparts and the Porte Saint-Michel, a must-see site whose visit includes two exhibitions in Guérande.
Guérande's iconic Porte Saint-Michel bears witness to the town's power in the Middle Ages. Both a fortified gateway and a logis-châtelet, it is the only interior of the medieval walls open to visitors. Steeped in more than 6 centuries of history, it was in turn a logis-châtelet during the reign of the Dukes of Brittany and the Kings of France, a prison during the Revolution, a town hall from 1815 to 1954, and a museum from 1928. Over the course of history, it became the seat of political power and a symbol of the city's identity. Listed as a historic monument since 1889, it has been the scene of some of Guerande's greatest events. The Porte Saint-Michel is also one of the four gates of Guérande's city walls. Little altered and little restored, Guérande's fortified walls extend for some 1,460 m. Their reinforcement, undertaken by Jean de Montfort, lasted 150 years. With its ramparts, four gates (Vannetaise, Saint-Michel, de Saillé and Bizienne) and six towers, Guérande's urban wall is one of the best preserved in France and the most complete in Brittany. It is one of the few to have retained its ramparts in their entirety. Today, more than a third of the ramparts are open to visitors from the Porte Saint-Michel: to the north, as far as the Porte Vannetaise, which gives access to the Tour Sainte-Anne, and to the south, 40 m beyond the Tour Saint-Jean. The tour includes two exhibitions, one of which showcases the museum's collections.
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