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Fort Louvois
Fort Louvois, which is known locally as Fort Chapus or Fort du Chapus, is a fortification built between 1691 and 1694, during the reign of Louis XIV, on the Chapus islet, and is about offshore in the town of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus in the department of Charente-Maritime, France. The fort sits opposite the citadel of Château d'Oléron on the island of Oléron. The fort was positioned so that a crossfire from the château and the fort would control the Pertuis de Maumusson (Passage of Maumusson) and impede access to the Rochefort roads from the south. Fort Louvois only saw action towards the end of World War II when bombardment greatly damaged the fort, necessitating later restoration. Since 1972 the fort has been the site of a museum of oyster farming, and there are oyster beds next to the causeway that joins the fort to the shore. The fort also houses a permanent exhibition that describes the history of the fort and that contains models of fortifications on the Charente coast. Dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charente-Maritime
Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kilometres (2,650 sq mi). History Previously a part of the provinces of Saintonge and Aunis, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. On 4 September 1941, during World War II, it was renamed as Charente-Maritime. When the department was first organised, the commune of Saintes was designated as the prefecture of the department (Saintes had previously been the capital of Saintonge). This changed in 1810 when Napoleon passed an imperial decree to move the prefecture to La Rochelle. During World War II, the department was invaded by the German Army and became part of occupied France. To provide defence against a possible beach landing by the Allies, the Organisation Tod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Boyard (fortification)
Fort Boyard () is a fort located between the Île-d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits, on the west coast of France and is the filming location for the eponymous TV game show (1990 – present). Though a fort on Boyard bank was suggested as early as the 17th century, it was not until the 1800s under Napoleon Bonaparte that work began. Building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. In 1967, the final scene of the French film '' Les aventuriers'' was filmed at the remains of the fort. Layout Fort Boyard is stadium-shaped, long and wide. The walls were built high. At the centre is a yard, and the ground floor provided stores and quarters for the men and officers. The floor above contained casemates for the emplacements of guns and further quarters. Above that were facilities for barbette guns and mortars. History The construction of the fort was first considered during a build-up of the French armed forces undertaken by Louis XIV b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Louvois - Panorama1
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goulet De Brest
The Goulet de Brest is a 3-km-long strait linking the roadstead of Brest to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 1.8 km wide, the is situated between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north and the îlot des Capucins and the Pointe des Espagnols to the south. At each turn of the tide, the ocean refills the roadstead in a current that can attain 4 to 5 knots. Sailing ships would thus wait in the cove of Camaret-sur-Mer for a favourable current to carry them into the . On 2 January 1793, the ''Childers'' Incident – the first shots of the war between Great Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars – took place in the . Military significance It is the only opening into the roadstead of Brest, and thus the only access to the town. Consequently, successive French governments have lined the with military installations to protect the town and the naval fleet based there, and to keep a watch on shipping using it. The geography of the favours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camaret-sur-Mer
Camaret-sur-Mer (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France, located at the end of Crozon peninsula. Sights Camaret-sur-Mer is home to the ''Tour Vauban'' or ''Tour dorée'' (lit. "Golden Tower"), a historic fortification guarding the harbor and built in 1669–94. In 2008, the ''Tour dorée'' was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the "Fortifications of Vauban" group. Camaret also is home to a marina and some beaches. Population Inhabitants of Camaret-sur-Mer are called ''Camarétois''. Map Twinning Camaret-sur-Mer is twinned with St Ives, Cornwall, UK. See also *Communes of the Finistère department *Saint-Pol-Roux *Parc naturel régional d'Armorique The Parc naturel régional d'Armorique ( br, Park an Arvorig), or Armorica Regional Natural Park, is a rural protected area located in Brittany. The park land reaches from the Atlantic Ocean to hilly inland countryside. There are sandy beaches, sw ... *" List of the works of C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tour Vauban
The Tour Vauban ( Vauban Tower), initially known as the tour de Camaret, is an 18m-high polygonal defensive tower built to a plan by Vauban on the Sillon at Camaret-sur-Mer, as part of the fortifications of the goulet de Brest. It has three levels and is flanked by walls, a guardhouse and a gun battery which can hold 11 cannons as well as a cannonball foundry added in the French Revolution period. Drafted in 1683, the tower was designed in 1689 by Vauban and construction was supervised by the military engineer Jean-Pierre Traverse from 1693 to completion in 1696. The 11 cannons in the battery are believed to have been forged with those for the battery on pointe du Grand Gouin, for the Quélern defensive-lines and the many neighbouring batteries. In the French victory in the Battle of Camaret on 18 June 1694, the battery and its two guard houses were only armed with nine 24-pounder cannon and three mortars firing 30 cm balls. On 18 June 1694 Vauban himself was in command o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charente (river)
The Charente (; oc, Charanta ) is a long river in southwestern France. Its source is in the Haute-Vienne ''département'' at Chéronnac, a small village near Rochechouart. It flows through the departments of Haute-Vienne, Charente, Vienne and Charente-Maritime. The river flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Rochefort. Navigation The Charente was described by the French king François I as 'the most beautiful river in the kingdom', and was navigable in its natural state until mills were erected at many locations in the 14th century. Some locks were built but through navigation remained impossible for centuries. Improvements to the navigation were projected under Louis XVI in 1772, but work was interrupted by the Revolution. The project was revived under the Restoration and canalisation completed in 1835. The waterway was abandoned in 1957. The ''départements'' took over operation in 1963, and recreational vessels have now taken possession of the waterway throughout the 164 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Lupin
Fort Lupin, also known as Fort de la Charente, is an artillery battery in Saint-Nazaire-sur-Charente, in the department of Charente-Maritime, France. It was built in the 1680s to a design by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, and it is now in good condition. History Fort Lupin was built on the southern bank of the Charente, and commanded the approach to Rochefort and its arsenal along with Fort Lapointe on the opposite bank of the river. The first proposal to build a fortification in the area was made in 1672 by the engineer La Favolliere, and it was eventually built between 1683 and 1686. The fort's initial design was made by François Ferry, but the plans were extensively modified by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, who reduced its size due to a lack of funds. The fort consists of a semi-circular gun battery ringed by a parapet with twenty-two embrasures. A ''tour-réduit'' and two blockhouses are located at the gorge. The fort is further protected by a ditch, a covertway and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Louvois à Marée Basse
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Commune de Dunkerque (59183) INSEE It lies from the border. It has the third-largest French harbour. The population of the commune in 2019 was 86,279. Etymology and language use The name of Dunkirk derives from '' or ' |
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the city proper is 72,929; that of the urban area is 149,673 (2018).Comparateur de territoire: Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Calais (073), Commune de Calais (62193) INSEE Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the |
Fort Risban
Fort Risban is a fort in Calais, France, located on the coast on the Avenue Raymond Poincaré at the port entrance. In English medieval accounts it is Risbanke or Risbank. History The existence of the fort was first mentioned when Calais was besieged by the English in November 1346. Edward III of England's troops, finding the defences of Calais impenetrable, decided to erect a small fort to prevent any supplies reaching the town by sea, with a view to starving the inhabitants into submission. Under the English occupation the wooden tower was replaced by a stone structure, the Stone Tower, after 1400 renamed Lancaster Tower, a name often given to the fort itself. Fort Risban was used by the English forces until 1558 when Calais was recaptured by France. In 1596, the fort was captured by the Spanish Netherlands until May 1598 when it was returned to the French following the Treaty of Vervins A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in internati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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