Fort Saint-Jean (French pronunciation:[fɔʁsɛ̃ʒɑ̃]) is a fortification in Marseille, built in 1660 by Louis XIV at the entrance to the Old Port. Since 2013, it has been linked by two foot-bridges to the historical district Le Panier and to the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations; the latter being the first French national museum to be located outside Paris.
History
Fort Saint-Jean was built on a site earlier occupied by the Military Order of the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John, from which the new building derived its name. Fort Saint-Nicolas was constructed at the same time on the opposite side of the harbour. Commenting on their construction, Louis XIV said, "We noticed that the inhabitants of Marseille were extremely fond of nice fortresses. We wanted to have our own at the entrance to this great port."[1] In fact, the two new forts were built in response to a local uprising against the governor, rather than for the defence of the city: their cannons pointed inwards towards the town, not outwards towards the sea.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Fort Saint-Jean was in the possession of the French Army, who utilised it as a barracks and clearing station for the Army of Africa. During the years when the French Foreign Legion was based mainly in North Africa (1830 to 1962), the fort was a final stop-off point for recruits for the Legion destined for basic training in Algeria.
During World War II Fort Saint-Jean was occupied by the German military in November 1942. In August 1944, during the liberation of Marseilles, the explosion of a munitions depot within the fort destroyed much of its historic battlements and buildings. Although returned to the French Army, Fort Saint-Jean remained in a neglected and disused state until it was passed to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in 1960. Classified as a historical monument in 1964,[3] the damaged portions of the fort were reconstructed between 1967 and 1971.
Jacoby, David (2007), "Hospitaller Ships and Transportation across the Mediterranean", The Hospitallers, the Mediterranean and Europe, ed. Karl Borchardt, Nikolas Jaspert and Helen J. Nicholson, Ashgate: 57–72, ISBN978-0-7546-6275-4, a chapter on the role of Marseille in Hospitaller shipping