Fortifications and ramparts to visit Provence

The Roche-la-Croix site is a set of stone masonry (th century) and reinforced concrete (th century) which bears witness to a race without a hitch. Integrated into the Maginot system of defence of the Alps, it represented a real lock on access to Larche's Col.

The Tournoux fortress is an important work composed of 6 forts ranging from 1,290 m altitude for the Esplanade Pellegrin to 2,000 m for the Serre-de-l'Aut. The Caures battery, which is open to visitors, is located at 1,800 m. Built between 1839 and 1866, these fortifications of the Maginot line are located on the border of the communes of Condamine-Châtelard and Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye. They defended the entrance to the upper Ubaye valley from the Arche pass. It should be noted that the forest track of about 2 km leading to it is not very passable

To the south of the rampart is the Fort, now a café. Two adjoining buildings reinforce the rampart at the rear, visible for a short distance. Erected in 1377, this rampart forms the eastern facade of the second enclosure of the old village of Grambois. It is built of rubble stone and is two metres thick, overlooking the village square dedicated to it. Featuring 8 narrow archways, it faces north, opposite the church.

Behind the monumental cross, built in 1753, stands the Tourrache, a tall rectangular tower whose projecting brackets at the top form the north face of the rampart. During the Wars of Religion in the 16th century, several improvements were made to the Grambois ramparts. However, despite these precautions, the Savoyard army stormed and pillaged Grambois in December 1590, marking the most tragic episode in its history. The tower was later used as a consular house in the 17th and 18th centuries.