The Héaux de Bréhat is an active

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, located on the

Île-de-Bréhat Bréhat (, ; ) is an island and ''commune'' located near Paimpol, a mile off the northern coast of Brittany. Administratively, it is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France. Bréhat is actually an archipelago compos ...

. The lighthouse is closed to the public. Built by French engineer Léonce Reynaud in 1840, it sits on the reefs of Tréguier, near the Sillon de Talbert. It is on the western end of the Bay of

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

, and marks the entrance to the island of Bréhat from the ''Trieux'' channel. It was classified 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, ...

'' on 23 May 2011.

History

The French Lighthouse Commission decided to build a lighthouse on the reefs of Tréguier in 1831, entrusting the construction of a temporary structure to a carpenter from

. The project, a white signal light, was completed in 1832, but destroyed within a year due to strong currents and surf. In April 1834, Leonor Fresnel commissioned 32-year-old engineer Léonce Reynaud to design a lighthouse. Reynaud's approach was different, and did not fit in with the typical British-style architecture of lighthouses in 19th century

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. The building was constructed in two blocks: the first block was solid and modeled after the British lighthouses Eddystone and Bell Rock, while the second block was lighter in style, upon which the illumination was to be placed at its final height. Blocks of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

were cut to size, numbered, and delivered to be assembled on site. The setbacks to construction were numerous, including several contractors backing out due to safety concerns, the proposed laying of the first stone being postponed due to bad weather, strikes shutting down the site in October 1838, and difficulties with exceeding the budget. The light was finally lit for the first time in February 1840, with an initial height of 154 ft (47 m). On 18 June 1903, the characteristic became white with a period of 4 seconds. In August 1944, the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

blew up the tower with dynamite. 49 ft (15 m) of the lighthouse disappeared into the sea, but it was quickly rebuilt and raised one floor to reach 187 ft (57 m). The light was automated in 1982.

Popular culture

The Héaux de Bréhat is featured on bottles of Glann ar Mor

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

. The lighthouse is featured prominently in the French movie ''

A Very Long Engagement ''A Very Long Engagement'' () is a 2004 romantic war drama film, co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and starring Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel and Marion Cotillard. It is a fictional tale about a young woman's desperate search for he ...

'' (2004), as is the entire island of Ile de Bréhat, where the hero and heroine live. Stars include

Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...

and

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress who has appeared in both European and Hollywood productions. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Marion Cotillard, various accolades, including an Ac ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaux de Brehat Lighthouse Lighthouses completed in 1840 Lighthouses of the English Channel Monuments historiques of Côtes-d'Armor

History

Popular culture

See also

References

External links