Fort du Hâ

After the end of the Hundred Years' War and his conquest of Bordeaux, King Charles VII had two fortresses built to ensure permanent control over the city: the Château Trompette and the Château du Far (later Hâ). The foundation stone for the latter was laid on January 24, 1456. Subsequently, Charles de Valois, the brother of Louis XI, resided here. In October 1572, it served as a refuge for Protestants after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. In 1650, during the Fronde, it was a defensive position against the royal troops besieging Bordeaux. From 1731, the complex mainly served as a prison. Multiple plans to demolish it failed due to circumstances at the time. However, actual demolition began in 1835, with the exception of two towers that are still preserved today. These were placed under monument protection as a Monument historique on August 14, 1845. On November 19, 1846, the new prison building was opened (the architect was Joseph Thiac). During the German occupation of France in World War II, the tower served as a political prison, among others for Édouard Daladier, Georges Mandel, and the Bonapartist pretender Napoléon Louis Bonaparte. Resistance fighters were also interned in Le Hâ Castle. Some were deported from there to concentration camps, others were shot at Camp du Souge. After the liberation, the fortress was also used for the incarceration of collaborators and other prisoners, for example, the German Friedrich-Wilhelm Dohse, who was partly responsible for the leadership of the Gestapo in Bordeaux. A memorial plaque bears the inscription: "After the construction of a new prison, the 19th-century building was demolished and an administrative college was built in its place."