- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 1801 · 19th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Location
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
- Architect
- military engineering
- Coordinates
- 45.9996°, -1.2139°
History
A fort on the Boyard sandbank in the Pertuis d'Antioche strait was first proposed under Louis XIV but judged impossible. The idea was revived in 1801, and in 1804, under Napoleon, work began on a stone base, which kept sinking into the soft seabed and being battered by storms. Construction stopped in 1809 and resumed under Louis-Philippe in the 1840s. The fort was finished in 1857, by which time modern artillery could cover the strait from the shore, so it was obsolete almost at once. After 1871 it briefly held imprisoned Communards, and it later fell into ruin.
What to see
The fort cannot be entered – since 1990 it has been the set of the game show Fort Boyard. Visitors see it from excursion boats sailing from La Rochelle, Fouras, Aix and Oléron, which circle close to the walls. The oval structure is about 68 metres long with walls 20 metres high, and it is also clearly visible from the beaches of Aix and the Fouras headland.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q92089
Popularity: articles about this site in 33 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).