Quélern is a hamlet in

Roscanvel Roscanvel (; br, Roskañvel) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Roscanvel are called in French ''Roscanvelistes''. See also * Quélern *Communes of the Finistère depart ...

, in the department of

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

(

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

), in western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Fortifications

Fortified lines

The Quélern lines defended the entrance to the

goulet de Brest The Goulet de Brest is a 3-km-long strait linking the roadstead of Brest to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 1.8 km wide, the is situated between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north and the îlot des Capucins and the Po ...

against capture from behind the defences of the Roscanvel peninsula. They are 1.22 km long and form the only surviving non-urban line of fortifications in

. Work on them was begun in 1695 by Vauban himself (they are still sometimes known as the Vauban system) and they were improved from 1777 to 1785 due to the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

, in expectation of British action against the port of Brest. The lines still serve a strong geostrategic function and the area is still military land with no public access.View of the lines (GoogleMaps)
/ref> An upper gate known as porte de Camaret and a lower gate known as porte de Crozon were the only two ways through the wall until their destruction, possibly between 1940 and 1944.

Redoubt

From 1852 to 1854, a fort known as the réduit de Quélern was built to plans by Vauban, with modifications. It is a square-plan fort with bastions and surrounded by a dry moat. Like the lines, it is still

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

property and thus not open to the public.

Fortifications

Fortified lines

Redoubt

References

External links