The Fort de Bois-d'Arcy (), also called the Batterie de Bois-d'Arcy (), is one of the forts constructed at the end of the 19th century to defend
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. It is located in the commune of Bois d'Arcy in the
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.Route nationale 12. It is now the home of the French national film archives, the Centre national de la cinématographie.
History
Built between 1874 and 1881, the fort was planned to reinforce the western fortifications of Paris. The southwestern forts were designed to cover the approach of a relieving army from the western portions of France. The Bois-d'Arcy fort protected the neighboring Fort de Saint-Cyr,
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
and the Camp de Satory, covering the Trappes valley and railway lines from
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
and
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
.
During World War II the fort was occupied by German forces. Before leaving, the Germans blew up the front of the fort in 1944.
Film depository
During the 1960s the fort was placed at the disposal of the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
* Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
* Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
* Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
* Minister for the Arts (Australia)
* Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
and was used by the Centre national de la cinématographie from 1969 as a storage center for nitrate-based films. It has since been designated a depository for all French films and is involved in the digitization of movies for
digital preservation
In library science, library and archival science, digital preservation is a formal process to ensure that digital information of continuing value remains accessible and usable in the long term. It involves planning, resource allocation, and appli ...
. It is classed as a
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 collection of buildings, ...