France - Aquitaine - Fort-Boyard

ATLANTIC COAST

Fort-Boyard

Sent by Sophie from Centre-Val de Loire, France.

Fort Boyard (French pronunciation: [fɔʁ bwajaʁ]) is a fort built on Boyard bank, an ocean bank located between the Île-d'Aix and the Île d'Oléron in the Pertuis d'Antioche straits on the west coast of France. Though a fort on Boyard bank was suggested as early as the 17th century, it was not until the 1800s under Napoleon Bonaparte that work began. Building started in 1801 and was completed in 1857. In 1967, the final scene of the French film Les aventuriers was filmed at the remains of the fort. Since 1990, it is the filming location for the eponymous TV game show.

Fort Boyard is stadium-shaped, 68 metres (223 ft) long and 31 m (102 ft) wide. The walls were built 20 m (66 ft) high. At the centre is a yard, and the ground floor provided stores and quarters for the men and officers. The floor above contained casemates for the emplacements of guns and further quarters. Above that were facilities for barbette guns and mortars.

The construction of the fort was first considered during a build-up of the French armed forces undertaken by Louis XIV between 1661 and 1667. The Pertuis d'Antioche was a frequent site of naval engagements between the navies of France and England during this time, and France had already established fortifications on nearby islands and peninsulae to fend off incursions from the English Royal Navy. With the limited range of artillery in the 17th century, there was an unprotected gap between the fields of fire of the fortifications on the islands of Aix and Oléron; a fort on Boyard bank, roughly midway between the two, would have filled that gap. Fort Boyard was to form a line of fortifications with artillery stationed on Oléron (to the west), Fort de la Rade (on Île-d'Aix to the east), and Fort Énet (on a tidal island even further to the east) to protect the port and arsenal at Rochefort. In 1692 the French engineer Descombs began planning the construction of the fort; however, once it became clear how expensive it would be the scheme was abandoned. Vauban, Louis XIV's leading military engineer, famously advised against it, saying "Your Majesty, it would be easier to seize the moon with your teeth than to attempt such an undertaking in such a place".

After a British raid on Île-d'Aix in 1757, plans for a fort on Boyard bank were once again considered. Though plans were drawn up, it was abandoned again due to the logistical problems (read more).