Barrière de l’Esseillon-Fort Marie-Christine

The forts, named after members of the House of Savoy, are:

• Fort Victor-Emmanuel is the largest of the forts, capable of housing a garrison of 1500 men.
• Fort Marie-Christine is the highest of the five forts. The fort has been fully restored and now houses a restaurant and a youth hostel.
• Redoute Marie-Thérèse is located alone on the left bank of the Arc; the fort is fully restored and now houses a bar and a museum.
• Fort Charles-Félix, the only fort damaged in 1860 by order of Napoléon III in compliance with a clause in the Treaty of Turin. Today the fort is a ruin.
• Fort Charles-Albert was never completed.

The forts were built between 1819 and 1834 with the help of reparations that France had to pay to the Kingdom of Sardinia as a result of the Congress of Vienna. The Barrière protected access to Mont Cenis and made the Duchy of Savoy a buffer zone against France.

The forts were never involved in battles in the following years. The Treaty of Turin in 1860, in which Savoy was annexed to France, stipulated that France had to destroy the forts. However, this agreement was only implemented for Fort Charles-Félix. The French army instead repaired the remaining installations to protect its country from an Italian invasion.

During the Second World War, the forts were occupied by the Kingdom of Italy. Fort Vittorio-Emmanuele became a prison for political prisoners, while Fort Maria-Teresa became a barracks for the Guardia di Finanza. After the armistice, Fort Vittorio-Emanuele was occupied by the Germans, who built a bunker there from which they could shell the national road. After the war, the forts fell into disrepair, but are currently being gradually restored.

The fort was named after Maria Christina of Savoy. It was built in the 19th century under her father Victor Emmanuel I to protect the Kingdom of Sardinia, to which Maurienne then belonged. The fort is part of the Barrière de l’Esseillon barrier system.

Today, the complex is a youth hostel.