The Fort de Saint-Cyr, located in the commune of

Montigny-le-Bretonneux Montigny-le-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines ...

, (

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After the

first world war 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 fort was used as an army weather station and arms depot. Classed in 1992 as a

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

, it is now used as a film depository for the preservation of movies under the

Cinémathèque française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

History

In 1870, France was partly occupied by the

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

. As a result of this defeat, the

Séré de Rivières system The system was named after Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, its originator. The system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers and coasts of France. The fortresses were obsolescent by 1914 but were used during ...

of fortifications was planned and constructed to defend Paris. In total, 18 forts, five redoubts and 34 batteries were built around Paris between 1874 and 1881. Construction was authorized on 27 March 1874 for a fort to protect the town of

Saint-Cyr-l'École Saint-Cyr-l'École () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It used to host the training school for officers of the French army, the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM), which wa ...

. The fort itself was located in what was then the commune of Bois d'Arcy, now in the town limits of

. Construction on the Fort de Saint-Cyr began in May 1875 and was completed in 1879, with troops installed the same year. The garrison was composed of 26 officers, 56 non-commissioned officers and 1406 soldiers. The fort was defended by 90 artillery pieces. In case of conflict, the fort's stores could provide food for three months and water for six months. The large trapezoidal fort's main armament was a twin 155mm

Mougin turret The Mougin turret is a land-based revolving gun turret that housed some of the heaviest armament in French fortifications of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While not reliably resistant to the explosive shells of opposing artillery, Mougi ...

. The turret remains, but its guns have been removed.

Meteorological station

After the First World War the fort was used as an army weather station and as an arms depot. A school of meteorology was established there after the Second World War.

Cinémathèque archives

Thanks to

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often c ...

, 40,000 volumes of the French Cineclub were stored at Saint-Cyr. at the disposition of the French Ministry of Culture.La Cinémathèque française - Collections films

References

External links

Fort de Saint-Cyr
at fortiff.be {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Cyr, Fort De Fortifications of Paris Séré de Rivières system Buildings and structures in Yvelines

History

Meteorological station

Cinémathèque archives

See also

References

External links