Cézembre is an island in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, in the

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, near

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

. The island is uninhabited, with a surface area of approximately 18 hectares (44 acres), a length of , and a maximum width of . The island features a fine sandy beach facing

on the south, and a steep and rocky coast around the rest of the island. As elsewhere in northern Brittany, the tidal range is among the highest in the world. Until the seventeenth century, the island could be reached on foot at low tide from Saint Malo. The island's beach is popular in summer with visitors arriving by yacht or motorboat and there are also regular shuttles from St-Malo, although landing is only possible at high tide. A small restaurant serves lunches and prebooking is essential. Cézembre was inhabited by a number of

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

s over the centuries, and featured a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

for a time. There were also five small chapels. The chapel dedicated to

Saint Brendan Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 - c.577), is one of the early Celtic Christianity, Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, Br ...

was built in 1420 by a hermit priest from Saint-Malo, Raoul Boisserel. Vauban fortified the island at the end of the seventeenth century, and it was used thereafter as a place of

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

, with cargo stored in Saint Brendan's chapel. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Belgian Army installed a disciplinary company on Cézembre. Prior to its destruction during World War II,

's Oratory was a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

for unmarried women who would prick the nose of a wooden statue of the saint with a pin in the hope of a good marriage. Plaque on Cézembre

World War Two

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Germans and Italians strengthened the island's fortifications as part of the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

. The Italian contingent was made up of two officers and just over one hundred sailors, included in the ''Divisione Atlantica'' of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana. During the

Battle of Saint-Malo The Battle of Saint-Malo was fought between Allied and German forces to control the French coastal town of Saint-Malo during World War II. The battle formed part of the Allied breakout across France and took place between 4 August and 2 September ...

in August and September 1944 the German-Italian garrison was heavily bombarded by land artillery, naval artillery, and air strikes, with 19,729 aircraft bombs, including phosphorus and

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...

, and about 20,000 artillery shells hitting the island. Guns on the island contributed to the defense of St. Malo. The island's three-hundred-man garrison eventually surrendered to elements of the U.S. 83rd Infantry Division on 2 September 1944.

Post-war

As a result of this intense Allied bombardment, Cézembre's landscape is barren and pitted, although natural vegetation is returning. The island has not yet been completely demined, and for this reason most of the island beyond the beach constitutes a ''zone interdite'' (prohibited zone), with a barbed-wire fence and warning notices. After demining operations, the management of the island was transferred from the French ministry of Defense to the ''

Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on ...

'' (coastal conservatory, an official French public operator) in October 2017, in order to further expand its natural protection and manage the historic and archaeology sites left on the island, including the ruins of chapels and burial sites.

References

External links

More information on the island of Cézembre

Page on Cézembre from the Regional Council of Brittany

The official website of Talossa

Article about Cézembre by Italian magazine "L'Espresso"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cezembre Saint-Malo Islands Uninhabited islands of France Former populated places in France Vauban fortifications in France

World War Two

Post-war

See also

References

External links