Barrière de l’Esseillon-Fort Charles-Félix

The Barrière de l’Esseillon was constructed between 1819 and 1834, funded by reparations paid by France to the Kingdom of Sardinia after the Congress of Vienna. Its strategic purpose was to secure access to Mont Cenis and establish Savoy as a buffer zone against France. Although the fortresses were never involved in direct combat, Fort Charles-Félix played a special role: following the Treaty of Turin in 1860, which annexed Savoy to France, it was the only fort damaged by order of Napoleon III, while the other installations were maintained by the French army.