A little history of Saint-Jean fort in Marseille

The fortThe fort | ©Toutaitanous / CC-BY-SA

This square tower is the stronghold's oldest part, raised in 1448 by Antoine Hermentier, king René’s councillor. It replaced the tour de la Chaîne du Port, destroyed in 1423. The round tower was used as a lighthouse.

Why did they call it tour Saint-Jean? Because we found here a church and buildings belonging to Saint-Jean of Jerusalem's knights! Our fortifications were rebuilt in the middle of the 17th century (1664).