Photo : Wikimedia Commons
Forteresse de Ham
The original castle, whose construction is lost in the mists of time, was restored by Odon IV, then by Jean II of Luxembourg-Ligny. The latter's nephew, Louis of Luxembourg-Saint-Pol, Count of Saint-Pol and Constable to Louis XI in 1465, had a monumental keep built in 1441, the great tower or "Constable's tower", which was 33 metres in diameter, 33 metres high, with walls 11 metres thick.
The château de Ham was besieged several times, notably by Philip II of Spain in 1557.
Attached to the French crown under Henry IV, it was transformed at the end of the century by Vauban.
It was then turned into a state prison. It received famous prisoners, the last of whom was Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (the future Napoleon III), who stayed six years and finally escaped, disguised as a mason, under the identity of Badinguet.
In 1870, the second Army of the North surrounded the town of Ham, occupied by the Prussians, and forced them to sign a capitulation.
