The Portalet Fort. 19th century.

Between Urdos and Etsaut, on the right hand side of the RN 134 going towards Oloron, are the ruins of what might have been the medieval toll building of the Gateway to the Aspe Valley or Portalet (little doorway), which was destroyed during the French Revolution. On the 22nd of July, 1842, King Louis Philippe I ordered the construction of a military fort on a nearby cliff-top, to the right hand side of the narrow gorge, in order to defend the Somport route in the event of a Spanish invasion. The fort is made up of three main areas: the barracks for soldiers and officers, the upper fort and the galleries carved into the rock.

In 1875 and 1876, soldiers from Portalet participated in a frontier skirmish against Spanish Carlist soldiers. In 1914 it was provisionally abandoned for military use and some of its dependencies were rented out to a religious order from Bordeaux. However, after the 1940 defeat of the Vichy government, it was used to imprison its representatives. Starting in November 1942, the south of France was invaded by German troops and became a part of the exclusion zone. On the 24th of August 1944, the Resistance and Spanish guerrillas liberated the valley, forcing the German troops in Portalet to surrender. After the end of the war, from August to November 1945, Marshal Pétain himself was imprisoned in the fort. In 1962, Portalet was abandoned by the army and subsequently sold at auction in 1966. The Aspe Valley Commune acquired it in 1999. On the 30th of November, 2005 it was registered as a National Monument.

At present, the Portalet fort is being restored but it is open to groups for guided tours during holiday periods by prior reservation only.

. [ Vallée d'Aspe ]