Château de Joux
A thousand-year-old fortress guarding a Jura mountain pass, where the Haitian independence leader Toussaint Louverture was imprisoned and died.
The castle was founded in the 11th century and expanded many times. It forms a hilltop fortress surrounded by five lines of walls, and together with the opposite Fort de Larmont it controls the Cluse gorge pass leading to Switzerland. Toussaint Louverture died here in 1803, and Mirabeau was also imprisoned here. The guided tour covers the cells, a 100-metre-deep well and an arms collection. It takes about an hour, admission costs about €10, and some areas can only be entered with a guide. Located about 5 km south of Pontarlier and about 60 km from Besançon.
Opening hours
Guided tours only (reduced in winter)
Nearby sights
- Source of the Loue
- Lods
- Gouffre de Poudrey
- Ornans & Musée Courbet
- Miroir de Scey
- Musée des Maisons Comtoises
- Chapelle des Buis & Notre-Dame de la Libération
- Citadel of Besançon