The Chemin de Ronde circles the old town. It's a pleasant way to discover the magnificent panoramas that stretch beyond the ramparts. It takes you past 7 gates and 12 towers, testimony to the development of fortifications from the Hundred Years' War to the 19th century.
A little background information:
Living in a fortified town offered the advantage of protection in times of conflict.
However, this protection came at a price: the town had to defend itself. So, throughout the Ancien Régime, the town was guarded by the people of Langois themselves.
This royal privilege meant that they did not have to welcome troops who were often indelicate towards the population.
They were grouped together, supervised and trained within "tens", each of which was a sort of police unit with its own hierarchy.
In times of peace, they had to stand night-time guard; in the event of unrest or threats, this was reinforced by a day-time guard.
All men old enough to bear arms were requisitioned for this bourgeois militia, whose role was essentially defensive; for external expeditions, the City Council called in additional militias, which it paid.
Les remparts de Langres
