Butte aux canons

About

The hill at Les Canons is a 15 metre high mound that is one of the two highest points of the Vincennes wood with the Gravelle kiosk at an altitude of 71 meters.

The cannon hill is located between the Saint-Hubert road, the Demi-Lune road and the Allée des Quatre-Carrefours near the large roundabout in the centre of the forest aisle star south of the Royal Aisle. A gazebo is established at the top of which one discovers a panorama of Vincennes and the eastern suburbs. There are two trails with ramps.

History: A shooting polygon was created in 1791 on the royal aisle with a mound as a target in the centre of the star-crossing. The axis of fire was moved in 1838 following the construction of the Esquirol hospital in Saint-Maurice in the south (projectiles had reached this establishment) and a new, higher focus, the current gunshot, was created to the east. In 1855, the military estate was extended east of the shooting range. The central part of the wood is cleared by the army and the forest aisles disappear as well as the first sight of fire, that established in 1838 (the current gunshot) still used...