Fouras, also known as Fouras-les-Bains (), is a commune in the

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

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 ...

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

(before 2015:

Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, ...

). It lies 34 km south of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wit ...

Geography

Fouras is on a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

. It is bordered by five

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

es and a forest named "Bois Vert" ("Green Wood" in English) which covers 20% of its area. There is a causeway linking Fouras to

Fort Énet Fort Énet (, also spelled ''fort Énet'' in French) is a fortification in the Pertuis d'Antioche, in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is located on the "Pointe de la Fumée", the roadway extending from the city of Fouras, betwe ...

, which is walkable at low tide, in the direction of

Île-d'Aix Île-d'Aix () is a commune and an island in the Charente-Maritime department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Poitou-Charentes), off the west coast of France. It occupies the territory of the small Isle of Aix (''île d'Aix''), in th ...

. The pier for the island of Aix is also located in the territory of the commune. The south coast of the

of Fouras forms the northern side of the mouth of the river

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

. A little further south is the Île d'Oléron. Off the island between Aix and the Oleron Island is Fort Boyard, which was made famous by the French and U.K. TV game shows of the same name and whose character "Père Fouras" (, also incorrectly pronounced ) increased the celebrity of the town.

Population

Vauban Fortress

The "Vauban Fortress" (, ) was initially a strategic fortification established by Philip the Fair, circa 1300. The

donjon A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in ...

was rebuilt in 1480-1490 by

Jehan II de Brosse Jean II de Brosse, also Jehan II de Brosse (1432 – 6 August 1482), was the elder son of Marshal of France Jean I de Brosse. He would become chamberlain of the king of France in 1449. He married Nicole, Countess of Penthièvre, daughter of Ch ...

. In 1689, Ferry reinforced the walls of the Donjon to set up a battery of 9 canons and a signaling point. In 1693 a lower circular battery was set up to control access to the river

. The donjon received a signal station from 1889 to

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

.Local notice

Gallery

File:France - Charente Maritime - Fouras - Cabanes de pêcheurs.JPG, Fisherman's Cabin File:Fouras donjon.jpg, Fouras donjon in the "Vauban Fortress". File:Vauban fortress Fouras.jpg, The "Vauban Fortress" () in Fouras. File:Fort Boyard 1.JPG, Fort Boyard

People

Charles-Amable Lenoir Charles-Amable Lenoir (22 October 1860 – 1926) was a French painter. Like his mentor, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, he was an academic painter and painted realistic portraits as well as mythological and religious scenes. His artistic career ...

References