Chateau d'If in France, resort of Marseille
Rating: 7,9/10 (1519 votes)  Formally, the legendary Chateau d'If is located not in the city of Marseille, but a mile away on the Isle of If. Initially, this structure was a fort built to protect Marseille from all kinds of attacks from the sea. The construction of the fort began in 1524 by order of King Francis I, and lasted 7 years, until 1531. By the end of the 16th century, the naval threat to Marseilles became less obvious. and the castle of If began to be used for a completely different purpose. The most dangerous criminals from the point of view of the French crown were brought here for life imprisonment. For decades, oath-breakers, Huguenots, people disliked by the king, and many politicians were here. One thing was certain: having come here once, the prisoner never left here. Since 1830, an official order has been issued to close the prison of If Castle, but until some time the criminals were kept there in specially guarded cells. Thanks to the efforts of Alexander Dumas, father, the Chateau d'If has not experienced problems with the tourist flow for one and a half centuries. The Count of Monte Cristo became a kind of advertising novel for Marseille. The castle keepers took advantage of the book's popularity to create a separate `` Dantes Chamber '', and the area in front of the castle was built up with souvenir shops selling commemorative goods. The French themselves, grateful to Dumas' gift of writing, joke that the Chateau d'If was glorified by the Iron Mask and Edmond Dantes: the first was contained in the Bastille, We also recommend reading Plague Column (Plague Column) in Vienna, Austria Topic: Chateau d'If in France, resort of Marseille. |
