Le Petit Prince

Two weeks ago, on Saturday, Red Baron joined an excursion to Besançon for a picnic at the local citadel. The organizer was the Verein der Freunde und Förderer des Centre Culturel Français (CFF) Freiburg (Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Centre Culturel Français in Freiburg).

The association chairman, Dr. Roser*, was with us and told us on the outward journey that we would see the Little Prince and that a Freiburg city delegation was traveling to Besançon today to make an inaugural visit to our twin city.
*Retired director of the Franco-German Gymnasium (high school)

In the 17th century, Vauban built a citadel above Besançon into a fold of the Jura Mountains, adapting to the landscape. The walls nestle against rocky outcrops, and the fortifications, arranged in three levels, form a triple hornwork. 

The citadel is laid out with three bastion fronts: the Saint Etienne Front facing the city of Besançon, the higher Royal Front, and, at the top, the Refuge Front. Between the first two, a glacis extends, i.e., an exposed embankment that allows shallow fire against unprotected attackers. 

The citadel enclosure, including a garrison church behind high walls, housed the buildings where the soldiers lived daily. The Besançon defense system designed by Vauban with its citadel was considered impregnable. However, during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the citadel no longer played a military role. What to do with the empty buildings? 

After the Second World War, the citadel was converted into a museum complex, as there was plenty of space.

The present exhibition of Le Petit Prince roots in a January 2024 event at the CCF: "Dessine-moi ta planète" based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's book.

In a traditional collaboration with Freiburg's twin city, the CCF effort was the precursor to the significant main event at Besançon, focusing on an environmentally and socially critical reading of the Little Prince at the Besançon Citadel.

Looking from the citadel down on Besançon

Entering the Saint Etienne Front.
Younger participants carry water bottles, pretzels, and cake for the picnic.

Just behind the Saint Etienne Front is a statue of genius Vauban. 
He conceived and had the citadel built
as a more extensive project than Freiburg's Fort Carré.

The glacis

A close-up of the Petit Prince in plastic

Before entering the enclosure, a deep ditch protects the Royal Front.

Deep below, an ibex and an ape coexist.

A bridge spans the ditch to the Front Royal.

Remembering resistance fighters

Our guide in front of an ecological model of de Saint-Exupéry's plane

A closer look

What happened to the official Freiburg delegation? I descended the long and steep slope of the glacis a little earlier than the rest of the group, but when I arrived at the city bus station, I wasn't the first to wait for the others. 

Suddenly, a bus arrived, and familiar faces spilled out.

Lord Mayor Martin Horn asked a collaborator for a photo. This reminds me of an earlier one. I took on May 6, 2018:

Read the full story here.

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