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Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques · France

Fortifications maritimes

La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France

The record

Designation
Historic monument, classified (classé)
Protection
classé MH
Extent of protection
Les fortifications maritimes, de la Porte des Dames à la Tour de la Lanterne (portion est du front maritime) : classement par arrêté du 17 février 1879, par liste de 1889 et délimitation du 19 mai 1911
Protection dates
1879/02/17 : classé MH, 1889 : classé MH
Type
ensemble fortifié
Main period of construction
17e siècle
Ownership
propriété de l'État
Commune
La Rochelle
Département
Charente-Maritime
Region
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Country
France
Coordinates
46.15573, -1.15567
Mérimée reference
PA00104883

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1607 map "Poictou" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

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This record on the Ministère de la Culture's POP platform ↗

The Ministère de la Culture's notice

Le port a conservé l'aspect général qu'il avait au Moyen Age et les principaux ouvrages qui défendaient son entrée. Sont à peu près intacts le phare qui l'éclairait au 15e siècle (tour de la Lanterne) ; la tour de la Chaîne construite au 13e siècle et remaniée au 15e, dans laquelle se trouvait l'appareil nécessaire à fermer l'entrée du port ; la courtine qui réunissait les deux tours ; le donjon ou tour Saint-Nicolas, terminé en 1384, qui commandait la passe.

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

The port has retained the general appearance it had in the Middle Ages and the main structures that defended its entrance. Virtually intact are the lighthouse that illuminated it in the 15th century (Lanterne tower); the Chain tower built in the 13th century and reworked in the 15th, which contained the apparatus necessary to close the port entrance; the curtain wall connecting the two towers; the keep or Saint-Nicolas tower, completed in 1384, which commanded the passage.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Base Mérimée, Ministère de la Culture, data last updated 2026-09-17, reused under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab). Record text is reproduced unchanged. Ministère de la Culture · Licence Ouverte 2.0
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