Its a chalet…its a château…no…its a fort?

The earliest recorded notation of Château de Joux dates back to medieval times 1034. It started out a simple wooden garrison overlooking the passage of La Cluse due to its strategic location just 15 km from the Swiss border. It is located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux in the Jura Mountains of France commanding the mountain pass Clue de Pontarlier. The garrison was surrounded by lush forests which served as an economic gain as the lords of Joux maintained the rise lands, taxes, and inhabitants further building up the garrison to a château. In 1454, the Duke of Burgundy purchased the château from the Joux Lord descendants. The location of the château gave the Duke domination over the wool and salt trade routes, which he used to fund further expansion of the château. As the years passed on, the château was used as a bargaining tool among France, Sweden, and Spain. Over the years, and surviving through numerous owners, the château fell into disrepair. 

In 1678, King Louis XIV expanded the French Kingdom bringing in military architect Vauban to transform the château into a strong military hold that would stop Switzerland from encroaching on French territory. Vauban turns the château into one of the most renown military strongholds in French history. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the fort served as a state prison for the French governments including the famous prisoners: Mirabeau, Heinrich von Kleist, and the leader of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture.

Today, the fortress is museum displaying more the 600 rare weapons from the between the 18th and 20th centuries. Unfortunately, it is currently (2021-2022) closed for renovations and so we were not able to enter the grounds. However, its location within the mountains certainly makes this historical military landmark a thing of the beauty. 

I decided to visit Château de Joux from a distance. I decided to visit Fort Mahler to photograph Château de Joux from another cliff…….what a fantastic view! We arrived in Pontarlier just in time for me to have just enough time to drive up the mountain, park, and walk from the main road 2 km to Fort Mahler with enough time to set up before sunset. The sunset was absolutely amazing one of the best sunsets I have witnessed in my life! I did not stay until the end of blue hour because the temperature was dropping very fast that evening and I still had to hike back out of this location. When I was packing up my camera gear, I guess I started the locals passing by! The locals were a group of chamois moving as the light was quickly disappearing. I think I was more startled then they were! Walking back to the car I was able to see the sky light up bright pink during blue hour and I regret not waiting another 15 minutes before I left Fort Mahler.

I wish during this trip their were more time to see more of the other sites in Pontarlier. I recommend to visit Château de Joux and Fort Mahler if you are traveling to or near Pontarlier!