Medieval Cities | Aigues-Mortes: Capital of the Crusades

In the 13th century, in Aigues-Mortes, Louis IX undertook a daring challenge: to build a fortified port in the heart of the salt marshes of southern France, intended as the departure point for the Crusades to the Holy Land.
Thanks to the ingenuity of medieval builders, the city was gradually developed on the salt flats, stabilized by foundations driven into wooden piles, and connected to the sea through the construction of a canal, slowly transforming this hostile landscape into a strategic stronghold open to the Mediterranean.
Towering above it all, the Tour de Constance, imposing and remarkably well preserved, served both as a watchtower and as a symbol of royal power.
Aigues-Mortes thus emerged as a masterpiece of medieval engineering, as well as a demonstration of royal authority and the momentum of the Crusades.