History Project initiated by the Marquis de Louvois, then Minister of War, its implementation was entrusted to the engineer François Ferry. When Louvois died, Vauban reduced his ambition, and limited the construction to a part of the oval envisaged, to give it its definitive horseshoe shape. The fort was built in the 18th century to keep pace with the progress of armament, notably by reducing the number of embrasures to ten, out of the sixteen initially built, and took its final shape. Armed with guns and howitzers in the 19th century, it retained a garrison and its military potential.