Fort Royalin Cannes, France

An impregnable building located on the steep cliff on the island of Saint-Margaret is famous for its history and unsolved mysteries.

The fort was conceived as an impregnable fortress with bastions and a castle, and was an incredibly important and protected strategic object for France. But it did not prevent the Spaniards from capturing it in 1635. The fort war regained only two years later. After that, it was reconstructed, given a different shape and it was even planned to make a chain of locks or an "iron belt" to protect France. But time made its own corrections and 50 years later it turned into the most sheltered prison on the coast (only one escape from this place completed successfully. It was Marshal Bazin, the culprit of the defeat of the French in the battle with the Prussians at Sedan) - the only person who succeeded ещ escaped from here.


Photo: Fort Royal

Photo: Fort Royal inside

The Protestant priests where the first prisoners here, then political prisoners, murderers, but of course the most famous prisoner of the Fort was the Man in the Iron Mask, who spent 12 long years in this prison and died here.

A man without a name, without a face, till our days remains as an undisclosed character in history. Whether it was - a twin brother of Louis XIV or Moliere, or whoever the secret remains undisclosed.


Photo: Fort Royal

Now you can find the Sea Museum here, where you can see the huge Roman cisterns that were intended for collection and storage of rainwater, some artifacts raised from sunken ships and of course the main exhibit of the fort - the camera of the Man in an iron mask who never had an occasion to appreciate the beauty of the island.