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Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques · France

Tour Saint-Nicolas

La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France

The record

Designation
Historic monument, classified (classé)
Protection
classé MH
Extent of protection
Tour Saint-Nicolas : classement par arrêté du 17 février 1879
Protection dates
1879/02/17 : classé MH
Type
édifice fortifié
Main period of construction
14e siècle
Ownership
propriété de l'État
Commune
La Rochelle
Département
Charente-Maritime
Region
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Country
France
Coordinates
46.15577, -1.15332
Mérimée reference
PA00105150

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 1621 map "Carte du Pais d'Aunis Ville et Gouvernement de la Rochelle." (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

Partie des fortifications maritimes. 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

Part of the maritime fortifications. The port has retained the general appearance it had in the Middle Ages and the principal works that defended its entrance. Remaining largely intact are the lighthouse that illuminated it in the 15th century (tower of the Lanterne); the tower of the Chaîne built in the 13th century and remodelled in the 15th, in which was found the apparatus necessary to close the entrance to the port; the curtain wall that united the two towers; the donjon or tower Saint-Nicolas, 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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