Lantern Tower (La Rochelle, France)
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Lantern Tower (La Rochelle, France)
OR:
Lantern Tower (La Rochelle, France) on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The Lantern Tower (french: tour de la Lanterne) is one of the three
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
historic towers in
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. With ...
,
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, D ...
, France, which guarded the port at
Aunis Aunis () is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name ...
. The Lantern tower served as a Lighthouse and a prison throughout its history. It was also known by other names: Garrot tower, Priest tower, and Four Sergeant tower. In 1789 the French government declared it 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 ...


History

The original purpose of the tower was to watch ship traffic in the port. It also served as a lighthouse. In the 1500s the tower was used to imprison priests. It was a multi-purpose building: used both as a lighthouse and a prison. The tower was used to watch the Aunis coastline during the
middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
; and it was used to guide ships into port. Throughout its history it was also used to house prisoners: first priests, then sailors, and finally prisoners from the Wars of the Vendée.


See also

*
Centre des monuments nationaux The Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) (French, 'National monuments centre') is a French government body (Établissement public à caractère administratif) which conserves, restores and manages historic buildings and sites that are the propert ...
* Vauclair castle *
La Rochelle Cathedral La Rochelle Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Louis de la Rochelle) is a Catholic church architecture, church located in the city of La Rochelle, France. The cathedral has been a national monument since 1906. Cathédrale Saint-Louis Present ca ...


References


External links

*
La Rochelle et Son Histoire: Tours


{{in lang, fr

French Ministry of Culture Buildings and structures in La Rochelle Tourist attractions in La Rochelle Historic sites in France Monuments historiques of Nouvelle-Aquitaine