Paris1972-Versailles2003

I am happy to tell you again found me some pictures in my cd rom vault and with another from another post that needs to be here for all you and me, This is Camaret sur Mer in the Finistére dept 29 in my lovely Bretagne , and my belle France, I have been by here several times, and have posts on more in my blog. Therefore, let me give you the Tour Vauban of Camaret sur Mer !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Tour Vauban tower, originally named the Camaret Tower or the tour Dorée (Golden), is a polygonal defensive tower built according to a master plan by Vauban and erected on the Sillon at Camaret-sur-Mer, whose coat of arms it appears on. It is one of the best-restored prototypes of the sea forts with a low battery and a gorge tower built by Vauban, with the originality of its coating, made of crushed brick. Planned as early as 1683, the tower was designed by Vauban in 1689. Construction of the building began in 1693 and was completed in 1696.

The Tour Vauban is flanked by walls, a guardhouse and a low semi-circular battery surmounted by a parapet equipped with eleven artillery embrasures and which contained 11 cannons as well as a cannonball furnace (one of the nine examples still standing). We can see that the two branches of the gorge front are hollow and equipped with a shooting gallery, and the one on the right has a cannon embrasure on its crest, firing from the rear. The building was originally named the “Tour Dorée” because of the orange coating which covers the facing and warms the gray of the granite chains. The whole is surrounded by a tidal moat (which fills with the tide and opens with a drawbridge). The cannonball furnace was built during the revolutionary period, replacing one of the two guardhouses. The building then had several functions: watchtower, powder magazine, garrison accommodation.

It essentially protects the accesses to the battery, which defends the anchorage, whose strategic importance is crucial for the safety of the harbor. The casemated tower is part of a vast defensive system: the lower battery must be equipped with eleven artillery pieces crossing their fire with those of the Pointe du Grand Gouin, the primitive lines of Quélern and the numerous coastal batteries, During the Battle of Camaret on June 18, 1694, the Anglo-Dutch attempted a landing on the beach of Trez-Rouz. Commanded by Vauban, the French troops repelled the attackers, the operation was a failure. Since that date, the cliffs to the east of the furrows are called “the English death” or Mort Anglaise ,and the surrounding dunes were turned into a cemetery to bury the dead English and Dutch sailors. During the attack, the tower, whose command was entrusted to Alexandre de Boulainvilliers, captain of galliot and artillery, was still under construction. The battery, which was being completed, like the two guardhouses, was then armed with only 9 24-pounder cannons balls weighing about 12 kg, and 3 12-inch iron mortars. This victory earned Camaret exemption from fouages until the French revolution and earned it the title of “guardian of the Armorican coast.” Until the Second Empire (Napoléon III), the Vauban tower retained a military function. Although modernized to cope with the evolution of weaponry. In 1861, military engineers chose to build a lower, six-meter-thick external battery in the form of a broken-line shoulder towards the Notre-Dame de Rocamadour Chapel (see post). The old battery and its tower were preserved as a redoubt. The fortification was decommissioned at the end of the 19C, and acquired by the town of Camaret sur Mer in 1904.

During the Great War or WWI, it served as a drinking water reservoir, and a seaplane base occupied the site of the dismantled outer battery. On September 3, 1944, American aircraft machine-gunned the tower with incendiary bullets, destroying the roof. The first restoration work took place in 1956 to repair the damage caused by this fire. Until May 1993, the tower was managed by the Naval Museum, which installed a small museum there, where objects and documents concerning the history of the navy in general, and the history of Camaret in particular, were kept.

The local presqu’Île de Crozon Aulne Martime tourist office on the Tour Vauban : https://www.crozon-tourisme.bzh/en/activite/tour-vauban/

The town of Camaret sur Mer on the tour Vauban (Dorée) : https://www.camaret-sur-mer.fr/fr/tour-vauban

The official Ministry of the Army on the Chemins de Memoire on the Tour Vauban : https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/la-tour-vauban-de-camaret-sur-mer

There you go folks, a wonderful peninsula to see the vast Atlantic ocean and surrounded by recent history as well as quant seaside town of Camaret sur Mer. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Tour Vauban of Camaret sur Mer !!! as I. 

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!