Barrage Vauban

The Barrage Vauban is defined by its thirteen wide stone arches spanning the river Ill, built from distinctive pink Vosges sandstone. Constructed between sixteen eighty-six and sixteen ninety to plans by the engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, this heavy, rectangular structure was intended to act as a massive defensive gate for the city. By operating internal sluice gates, defenders could raise the water level of the river to flood the lands south of Strasbourg, creating a vast, impassable marshland to halt invading armies.