Porte de Bise in Montferrand

To the north of Montferrand, the Bise Gate controlled access to the town from Paris. Built in the 13th century, it formed part of a vast defensive enceinte, 900 metres of which have recently been uncovered and restored.
From its founding around 1120, Montferrand needed defensive walls to protect itself from its rival, Clermont. With the growth of the merchant town and the envy provoked by its wealthy inhabitants, a new enceinte was built in the early 13th century. Stretching 1,700 metres, it encircled all the districts.

Constructed from locally quarried volcanic stone, it reinforced the name Mont grisâtre (“grey mount”) by which the town was known. The fortifications included quadrangular or semicircular towers linked by a sentry walk. Townspeople were required to stand watch and give the alarm in case of danger.

Four gates pierced the enceinte, one at each cardinal point. Among the most important was the Bise Gate to the north, which gave access to the road to Paris. Depicted in a 1460 drawing by Guillaume Revel, it was a massive structure with a drawbridge leading to arches that spanned the moat. During attacks the ditches could be flooded, using a system of locks fed by the northern branch of the River Tiretaine and by nearby marshes in what is now the Gauthière district.

A recent restoration project uncovered about 900 metres of Montferrand’s defensive walls, revealing not only stretches of the enceinte and towers but also later adaptations, notably those made in the 15th and 16th centuries to accommodate artillery.