Samois Tower, Abandoned observation tower in Samois-sur-Seine, France
Samois Tower is a square stone observation tower on the Rocher de Samois, whose summit reaches 117 m above sea level. Its shaft of light grey masonry rises from a rough dark stone base ringed by a balustrade with short pillars; narrow vertical slots pierce the upper shaft, and an arched opening below is covered in graffiti. Inside, 46 steps climb from an outdoor start to a spiral staircase emerging under an octagonal shelter on the terrace.
Isidore Hébert, a wood sculptor from Fontainebleau, asked the Samois-sur-Seine council on 16 November 1879 for a free plot on the Samois rock to build an observatory tower, finished in 1880. The concession ran 25 years; by 1908 the tower was described as ruins. The town closed it in 1928, restored it with the Amicale de Samois and made access paid, then walled the entrance in 2002.
The tower and the Samois rock appear in the upper-left quarter of the coat of arms of Samois-sur-Seine, drawn with a clear view of the trees. Local journalists in summer 1931 praised the view from the tower over greenery and the horizon. A drinks stall once stood at its base.
The tower remains closed to visitors due to deterioration and can only be viewed from distant vantage points within the surrounding forest. The surrounding terrain is accessible, allowing visitors to see and photograph the structure from the outside.
The tower appears in the upper-left quarter of Samois-sur-Seine's coat of arms, shown with the rock and with the trees cleared away so the view is open. In 2007 the municipal council proposed adding a metal staircase; the alternative, half-jokingly, was to remove the tower from the arms. Neither was done.
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