There are hardly more historically significant towns in France than Aigues-Mortes. Within the walled city, legends and facts reveal a rich history of conquering heroes and suffering martyrs. Today, the place has become a popular destination for travelers, filled with souvenir shops and sidewalk cafes. Visit with me inside Aigues-Mortes’ walls.
From its earliest days, Aigues-Mortes was significant for its salt fields and location bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Greeks and later the Romans, led by Gaius Mariusย (102 BC), occupied the land known as “Aigas Mortas,” meaning”dead” or “stagnant water.” Benedictine monks resided in the area in the 5th century and lived off the abundant fishing, hunting, and salt production. So important were the monks and the region to Charlemagne that in 791, he ordered the Matafรจre Tower to be erected amid the swamps to warn the residents if enemy fleets were approaching.ย
Before you can grasp Aigues-Mortes’ significance to kings and conquerors in France, it is essential to understand the importance of salt in the ancient world. As a trade item, it was as valuable as gold. It was used as a religious offering and a currency. A landowner who possessed a salty pond was considered a rich man.
In the 13th century, Aigues-Mortes’ salt fields and the proximity to the sea appealed to King Louis IX (Saint Louis). Intent on creating a passageway for trade and for his crusades, Saint Louis turned his attention to the spit of land in the marshes. He obtained the land from the Benedictine monks in exchange for property in Languedoc, where the monks could plow the soil and grow crops. When the Benedictines left, Saint Louis built the town, rebuilt the Matafรจre Tower, named it the Tour de Constance, housed his garrison there, and used Aigues-Mortes as the point of departure in 1248 for the Crusade of Egypt (7th Crusade) and for the Crusade where he died in 1270 (8th Crusade).
As Louis IX had envisioned, Aigues-Mortes became prosperous as a trade route. The population and town grew independently, mainly because those residing in Aigues-Mortes were exempted from paying tolls, tariffs, and taxes. The Carbonniere Tower (Tour Carbonniere) was constructed as a watchtower in the marshland outside of town. The narrow road beneath the tower was the only land access to the city. Guards were stationed there to control who entered and exited the town and to collect tolls. The passageway continued to be used as a toll road into the 1700s.
In 1272, Louis’ son and successor,ย Philip III the Bold, ordered the construction of the walls that completely encircled the town. The work was not completed until 30 years later. Aigues-Mortes was a busy port in the 13th and 14th centuries, but when Provence was reunited with France, Marseille took over in prominence and prestige.
Inside Aigues-Mortes’ Walls: Battles and Torture
From the 14th-19th century, Aigue-Mortes was the site of battles, torture, and merciless imprisonments. In the 14th century, Templars were incarcerated in the Tower of Constance, tortured, and burned at the stake. During the winter of the Armagnac-Burgundian civil war in the 15th century, a troop of marauding Burgundians were killed. Their bodies were dragged inside the walls, salted, and stacked in the Tower of the Bourguignons (Tour des Bourguignons).
Protestants who pillaged Aigues-Mortes in 1575 and took it over as their own were imprisoned there after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). They remained in prison until their deaths. In the late 1800s, one of the largestย massacres of immigrants in French history occurred inside the Aigues-Mortes walls. A riot broke out between French and Italian workers who labored together in the salt fields. Police could not contain the riot, and reportedly, up to 150 men were killed — all Italians.
Inside Aigues-Mortes’ Walls: Women Prisoners
After religious freedom was declared in France, fourteen women are said to have been prisoners in the Tower of Constance.
They were hidden away in a room deprived of air or of the light of day. The governor of Languedoc, who was on an official visit to the prison, found them there. It is said “theyย fell at his feet, overpowered with weeping so that they could not at first speak, and when speech came, they all together recounted their common sufferings. He was interested by the story of Gabrielle Guinges, who had given two sons to die in the French wars, yet was permitted to languish in prison. He was touched by the miserable appearance ย of Jeanne Auguiere and Isabeau Maumejan, who were eighty years of age, and of Isabeau Anne Gaussaint, of Sommieres, who was ninety years and who had been imprisoned for 36 years.” The most famous women prisoner was Marie Durand who engraved the word “Resist” on the prison wall. Incarcerated at the age of 17, she was released 38 years later.
Inside Aigues-Mortes’ Walls: A Transformation
While Aigues-Mortes is no longer the critical port it used to be, salt remains a significant product of the region. Compagnie des Salins du Midi, now known as “Salins,” is one of the leading salt producers in Europe.ย Recently, tourists have captured the ancient city.ย Aigue-Mortes‘ walls seem to bulge and vibrate with energy.
If you plan to visit Aigues-Mortes, please stop by the tourist office and take a guided or audio tour. You can read about the history, but there’s nothing like hearing it from an expert. Time and money well spent!
