Tour des Sept Baraques - Bergues

The Tour des Sept Baraques (meaning 'Tower of the Seven Graves' ) is located along a gravel path that runs along the city wall, through a pleasant wooded area.

This tower is different because it is rectangular with a stone base and the brick walls are battered. The size of the building was once clearly larger than what we see today, judging by the stone remains at the front and next to the cofferdam which suggest that something like the Porte de Bierne once stood here. The building also seems to have been altered by the defensive wall itself, on the east side.

The tower served as a gateway , giving access from the defensive wall to the moat and cofferdam. There is a gun port low on the west side, which serves as flanking cover here, partly hidden behind the massive corner pier. The doorway you see is modern.

Willem Vandenameele