Fort de Bertheaume
Encyclopedia
Plougonvelin
Plougonvelin is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plougonvelin are called Plougonvelinois.-Breton language:...
, the Department of Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is located on an island, which is nowadays connected to the dry land by a footbridge. It was used a long time for the monitoring of Goulet de Brest
Goulet de Brest
The Goulet de Brest is a 3 km long strait linking the roadstead of Brest to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 1.8 km wide, it is situated between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north and the îlot des Capucins and the Pointe des Espagnols to the south.At each turn of...
.
Fortification by Vauban
The fort of Bertheaume was mentioned for the first time in an act of March 8, 1474, but it seems that the first fort was destroyed in 1558. VaubanVauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
in attempting to enhance his control of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, established a battery in 1689, in order to push back any potential English attack. It proved its worth during the English invasion with Camaret
Camaret
Camaret is part of the name of 2 communes in France:* Camaret-sur-Aigues, in the Vaucluse département* Camaret-sur-Mer, in the Finistère département...
in 1694. In 1835, the first footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
connecting the island to the mainland was built.
Rehabilitation of the site
Plougonvelin
Plougonvelin is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plougonvelin are called Plougonvelinois.-Breton language:...
, the fort and the surrounding area was subject to archaeological excavations and underwent rehabilitation to make the site visitable. A main issue was that of the footbridge, which had to be rebuilt several times, after being damaged on numerous occasions by the winter storms. The continental part of the fort now accommodates an open-air theatre.