Chateau d'If

Agrandir le plan

In 1516, Francois the First seizes the strategic importance of this "rock" and orders that on it should stand a fortress. In 1531, the castle, which has three towers and a dungeon, locks the harbor of Marseille.

The Castle of If, impregnable fortress, will never experience assaults nor fights, and will become a prison during the early 17th century.

From 1689, the Protestants are thrown into the fortress where a lot of them perish. Rich prisoners, however, are put to jail in decent conditions: a cell with view on the see, a cook for the meals, cloth changed once a week... Young Mirabeau, jailed six months at the behest of his father, praised the comfort of his cell and the quality of the meals that she served.

In fact, the most famous prisoner is likely to be Jose Custodio Faria, a priest spiritualist who Alexandre Dumas immortalized in his "Count of Monte Cristo". By the way, the hole he dug to escape in the wall of a cell is still visible today.

After hosting the insurgents of 1848 and the Communards of 1871, the fortress lost its purpose of prison and will be open to the public in 1890.


Opening hours and information: