This tower is named after a priory located on what is now Place Saint-Ferjeux, which was demolished in 1673. It replaced a first tower built in the middle of the 14th century; square and modest in size, it proved unsuitable for the growing advances in artillery. At the end of the 15th century, this structure was demolished to make way for a new cylindrical artillery tower. The first of its kind to be built in Langres, its design was radically different. The walls are very thick (up to six metres), the two vaulted rooms are equipped with eight firing casemates and the summit terrace housed large-calibre cannons designed to protect the southern flank of the fortifications.
The tower was restored in 1844 by the Military Engineers, who rebuilt the parapet and modified the facing by replacing the defective bosses.
Since 1989, the terrace has been home to a work by Dutch sculptor Eugène Van Lamsweerde, entitled "L'air et les songes", in homage to Champagne philosopher Gaston Bachelard.
A little background information:
In 1580, this tower was equipped with 4 falconets, 3 muskets on trestles, 1 double falconet on a wheel, 2 small field guns on carriages and 1 copper mortar.
On 29 July 1641, soldiers from the Franche-Comté region came to pillage the Auges and Franchises suburbs: the Saint-Ferjeux cannons had to be fired to disperse them.
In 1856, the engineers built connecting walls between the citadel and the town. A gate (the Porte des Auges) was built and fitted with a drawbridge (part of which is still visible). A dame (a solid turret placed on the ridge of a wall) prevented access to the enclosure.
To the west of the Saint-Ferjeux tower is the oldest tower in Langres: the Tour Rouge. Square and modest in appearance, it is now attached to the former half-moon "des Moulins".
Its name probably comes from the ochre colour of its stones.
It dates back to the mid-14th century and had two rooms with embrasures (15th century?) that are still partially visible.
L'AIR ET LES SONGES
L'Air et les Songes (Air and Dreams) is the third sculpture created as part of a public commission by the French State and the Champagne-Ardenne Region, in homage to the philosopher Gaston Bachelard. The artist Eugéne van Lamsweerde placed it on one of the towers of Langres, the Tour Saint-Ferjeux. It is the only sculpture in this project to be installed on a historic monument.
Tour Saint-Ferjeux
