Castrum de Dijon

Castrum de Dijon is a Late Roman military fortification that sprawled across multiple hectares and was reinforced by massive stone walls with numerous defensive towers. The installation followed the typical Roman layout with right-angled streets and housed barracks, warehouses, and administrative buildings for stationed troops.

The fortress was constructed between 275 and 300 CE as a response to invasions from the north and was intended to protect the Roman settlement of Divio. It has shaped urban development since that time, and its ground plans remain visible in the modern city structure.

The fortress walls contain repurposed Roman funerary monuments, with carved stones revealing information about ancient inhabitants' names and occupations.

Only one surviving tower still stands today at Rue Charrue, while additional wall sections are visible at the Rude Museum. Visiting both locations helps you understand the original structure better.

The foundation stones of the fortress come from a Roman cemetery and contain decorative elements and inscriptions from earlier burial monuments. This reuse shows how pragmatically Roman builders approached construction of such large projects.