Built at the entrance to the "Pontarlier Gap", with the Swiss border on the horizon, this proud imposing castle is hard to miss. The Château de Joux stands around three hundred feet above the international commercial route which, as early as under Roman occupation, linked the Jura, Burgundy, Flanders and Champagne to Italy.
A veritable synthesis of 1,000 years of the history of fortification architecture, the Château de Joux experienced many of the major European conflicts: passage of Charles the Bold in 1476, occupation during the Thirty Years' War in 1639 and the signing of the surrender during the French conquest of Franche-Comté in 1674.
Set in the heart of Upper Doubs, the fortress is now a rich museum of 18th and 19th Century weaponry displaying a great many very rare exhibits. The castle is busy all year round with guided tours, conferences, evening events and the Nuits de Joux festival.
