Relief model of Neuf-Brisach (Haut-Rhin)

One true builder of cities lived during Louis XIV’s reign - S�bastien le Prestre de Vauban. Steeped in Italian military architecture, Vauban erected the fortress towns of Montlouis, Mont-Dauphin, and Neuf-Brisach. They were set inside grandiose defensive fortifications, based on a resourceful arrangement of bastions and ravelins. Everywhere his walls have survived, they display striking geometric beauty. As a kind of compliment to this fortified ring, Louis XIV had a series of relief maps produced, which were scale models of frontier posts. The cities were modeled with remarkable precision on wood planks several meters square. Officers could thus come to study defensive strategy and the value of fortifications.

Neuf-Brisach’s organization was based on military requirements, with a checquered ground-plan for the functional distribution of public buildings and private houses around a vast central square, intended for manoeuvres. The headquarters of military command were integrated harmoniously with such civil and religious buildings as the town hall, church and covered markets. Barracks, with wings for the officers at both ends, and gunpowder stores were built on the ramparts.