Towers of the Walls of Provins

The walls of the medieval city of Provins are but a shadow of their former self. These days, it only covers the northwest corner of the medieval town. Add the fact that Provins itself has grown throughout the centuries as a result of their prosperity because of the Champagne Fairs. The walls served as the defense of the town but these days the serve a more touristy purpose. The remaining walls are kept in very good condition that it is still quite imposing. The walls are not just walls but there are also towers which are build in regular intervals. As you have probably seen in books or movies, the towers are also for defensive purposes. You can probably imagine soldiers climbing up the towers to shoot arrows at invaders, or just scouting for any enemies in the horizon. The days of those are long past, but it is still possible to climb up the towers.

Behind the walls there is an elevated walkway that goes along the length of the wall. It allows soldiers to walk along the wall behind the safety of the walls. Along each tower there is a flight of stairs which you use to climb to the top of the tower. From here you can see a bit further into the horizon, not that much though. As you can see from the photo, the walls are surprisingly tall. I also noticed that the top of the tower itself was quite exposed. And enemies can probably shoot arrows to very easily. I would be expecting a shelter with windows there lookouts and archers would be peeking through. Perhaps there was not much need for that back then. It was nice to experience how it must have felt to be a lookout and an archer at that time.

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