An interesting time has come now: advances in science and technology are weaning people off books right before their eyes. First-year students come to me, none of whom have read Fight for Fire by J. Roni Sr. and who can barely read two chapters (!) Of this children's book in two weeks. But the second year is the same. True, these are future engineers. But don't engineers need intelligence and developed brains, the latter being developed by reading? Well, let alone ask about something more meaningful, for example, the novel by A. Dumas "The Count of Monte Cristo" and from my side it is simply "indecent". After all, he is “so fat”! Meanwhile, despite all its fantastic nature, this is not only interesting, but also very instructive reading, which made the previously unknown land area in the middle of the Marseilles harbor and an equally little-known fortification located “God knows where” very popular. Nobody really knew about the castle of If, and even more so they were not interested until then, until in 1844-1845. the famous French writer Alexandre Dumas did not write his novel "The Count of Monte Cristo", where he vividly described the long-term imprisonment of his protagonist Edmond Dantes precisely … in the Chateau d'If.
Chateau d'If. View in sunny weather.
View of the castle at sunset.
This novel soon became one of the most popular works of French literature, therefore, as soon as in 1890 the Chateau d'If was opened to visitors, a stream of tourists from all over the world immediately headed there. To be in Marseille and not to visit the Château d'If? How do you imagine it yourself ?! Why then go there at all ?!
Naturally, the city authorities "responded" to the cultural requests of both their own and foreign citizens and opened a museum in the castle. They began to conduct excursions to the cameras, opened a brisk souvenir trade, and equipped a cafe with a beautiful view of Marseille on the open area of the castle.
View of the castle from the side of Marseille.
Following the popular slogan "everything for you for your money", on the first floor of the Chateau d'If, to the delight of tourists, the "Edmond Dantes Chamber" was opened, in which, according to the idea of the great Dumas, Edmond Dantes spent 14 years. Moreover, Dantes's chamber, as in the novel, is connected by a hole with a semi-basement room without windows, which served as a chamber for Abbot Faria. A TV is installed in it, constantly showing the scene of the meeting between Dantes and Faria from different adaptations (and there were just a lot of them filmed in different years) of this novel.
Model of the fortifications of the If castle in its museum.
Drawing of the fortifications of the island in 1641.
It is interesting that on the second floor of the castle there is a cell in which the mysterious prisoner Iron Mask was allegedly also kept, although according to the novel by the same Dumas, the island of Saint-Marguerite became the place of his last imprisonment. On this occasion, the French historian Alain Decaux once said that "The popularity of the Château d'If is extremely high thanks to two prisoners: the Iron Mask, who has never been there, and Edmond Dantes, who never existed."
The entrance to the castle itself.
However, the fortress on a dazzling white island in the middle of the bay is interesting not only for this ingenious invention. She has her own, "serf", and also very, very interesting history. To begin with, the natural geographic location of this small island with an area of just under 30,000 square meters was very beneficial. Even during the Middle Ages, the city of Marseille was attacked from the sea with enviable regularity, and the small island of If became an ideal place where pirates, conquerors and robbers could rest before "business", or without fear, divide the loot. The Isle of If was described by Gaius Julius Caesar himself, and Caesar described it as a small island "on which various rabble constantly gathered."
The inner courtyard of the castle with a well.
So that the "rabble" was not there, King Francis I in 1516 decided to build an impregnable fortress on it, which could protect Marseille from attacks from the sea. The work began in 1524, but the entire order of the monarch was carried out only seven years later. So already in 1531 on the island of If there was a fortress of the most frightening appearance. And the fact that the view of the castle was indeed "frightening" is proved by the fact that even such a great commander as Charles V did not dare to storm Marseilles, knowing that the entrance to his harbor was guarded by the castle of If.
Entrances to the upper chambers.
Yes, yes, the castle of If, and in fact, was not attacked even once! Meanwhile, the fortress built on the island played more the role of a "scarecrow" for the enemies of Marseilles than it was a real "combat unit". The fact is that it was built hastily and in violation of all the rules of the then military architecture. According to one of the most authoritative military engineers of that time, namely Vauban himself, this fortress, although it was an impressive structure, was extremely dubious in value. Its walls were built of local fragile stone, the garrison was small, so, in his opinion, it could be taken in just a few hours or even simply destroyed by cannon shots.
One of the fortress towers.
They listened to Vauban's words, but they did not rebuild the fortress, and already in 1582 they turned it into a prison. A certain Chevalier Anselm was sent there, accused of conspiracy against the king. He did not suffer there for long: soon, according to the preserved documents, he was found dead in the cell and, according to the official version, he died of suffocation. Only he did it himself or who helped him, and remained an unexplained mystery.
Entrance to the dungeon.
The premises of the museum.
After the cancellation of the famous Edict of Nantes, Protestants began to be imprisoned in the castle of If, whom the state considered at that time almost its most sworn enemies. There is information that over 200 years more than 3,500 Huguenots "visited" the castle, most of whom died there due to the terrible conditions of their detention. So the castle of If became the most terrible prison of the Old World, and soon they began to talk about it not only in France, but also far beyond its borders.
Camera by Edmond Dantes.
Although the castle did not possess any fortification qualities, it turned out to be just what you need as a prison. The fact is that most of the internal premises there were cut down right in the rocky base of the island, and only a few structures were built on the surface. The shores of the island were surrounded by sharp stones, so it was almost impossible for an escaped prisoner to jump from the rocks into the sea, and then swim to Marseilles. Moreover, in its coastal zone there are strong currents, which even a physically strong swimmer can not cope with, not to mention the prisoners exhausted in the castle walls.
Interior view of Edmond Dantes' camera.
Laz into the cell of Abbot Faria is also there …
Perhaps that is why, since 1580, the Château d'If has become a place of imprisonment for many truly famous people of its time: politicians, noblemen and military leaders. It contained, for example, Count Mirabeau, now reposed within the walls of the Pantheon, and … Jean-Baptiste Chateau, the captain of a large sailing ship, accused of being the one who brought the plague to Marseille in 1720, which caused the death of many residents of the city.
It is clear that the famous captain at that time did not know anything about germs and plague fleas, and therefore could not think that he was taking such a terrible disease to his hometown, but, nevertheless, he was sentenced to imprisonment in the castle of If. General Kleber - one of the ideological inspirers of the Great French Revolution, was also kept in the Chateau d'If, however, already … dead! He was taken to the place of his imprisonment already dead, but his coffin continued to be in the underground of the island for 17 (!) Years.
View of Marseille.
In addition to political prisoners and Protestants, the castle really contained the most dangerous criminals - maniacs, poisoners, dismembers and murderers. Usually all this "rabble" was kept in a "pit" - that was the name of the lower chambers of the castle. These cells had no windows, no ventilation, and were not even illuminated by torches. One can only try to imagine how the person who was there for 10 years felt. Moreover, they could be imprisoned there not only for robbery, but also for a less terrible crime: it depended on the state of the "villain's" wallet.
If his relatives had money, then he could be sent to the upper cell, from the windows of which the sea could be seen and the sound of the surf could be heard. Well, if they had no money, they let him down to the “lower floors”, from which there was only one way out - death. Moreover, the bodies of the deceased prisoners were really thrown from the rocks of the island into the sea, and coarse cloth really served as a mortal shroud - everything was described by Dumas in the novel, and he described this terrible ritual that took place in the castle of If almost every day, very in detail - that's what literary skill is!
View of the island from Marseille.
The Château d'If prison was officially closed in the mid-1830s. After 40 years, it was again "reactivated" and members of the Paris Commune were sent there. And one of its leaders and ideologists, Gaston Cremier, was shot right here on the island. And this, fortunately, was the last victim of the castle of If. Well, already in 1926 the castle was given the status of an architectural monument, so that its gloomy past was done away with now forever!
Pier on the island.
It is not difficult for tourists to see the island today: in summer, every 20 minutes a boat leaves the "Old Port" in Marseille, but in winter you have to wait for 1.5 hours. A trip to the Chateau d'If is paid, but the ticket price is only 10 euros, that is, by European standards, it is a pittance. You can go there as part of one of the tourist groups, or you can negotiate with the carrier and in private, even with a Russian-speaking guide, but only for the appropriate cost.
Tourist boat.
On the island itself, you can sunbathe and swim in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, but in summer this small island is usually packed with people to overflowing, so it can be even closer to the spots near the water than on our beaches in Anapa!
