Fort de Joux in the Jura mountains of France

© Ivoha/Alam

Info. Fort de Joux in the Jura mountains of France

The Fort de Joux, also known as the Château de Joux, has gone through several changes during its thousand-year history. Originally built from wood in the 11th century, the castle was transformed into a stone fort and later served as a prison between the 18th and 19th centuries. The structure is set in a strategic location on a rocky peninsula in the Doubs department of France, where it looks over the narrow mountain pass Cluse de Pontarlier, which cuts through the Jura mountain range. The building, listed as a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture in 1949, now houses a museum of arms that displays more than 600 rare weapons.