Fort Boyard - Napoleon's Ocean Fortress

Fort Boyard

Located on the western coast of france, Fort Boyard is a structure that was built in the ocean to bolster France’s fortifications.
This oval shaped fort measures 223 ft or 68 meters by 102 ft or 31 meters wide with walls that are 66ft or 20m tall. Able to garrison 250 men this Fort was seen as the missing piece of France’s coastal defense.
On the ground floor of Fort Boyard stores and quarters for the men and officers surrounded an open air yard.
The first story contained more living quarters and casemates for the emplacements of guns.
Moving up higher in the building were facilities for barbette guns and mortars.
Back in the mid 1600s, at a time when artillery range was limited, the fields of fire between Oleron island and the fortifications on Aix island didn’t overlap. Almost half way between the 2 was a small patch of land in the ocean called Boyard bank.
Plans for the construction of Fort Boyard were devised by French engineer Descombs in 1692 but was soon deemed too expensive to pursue.
Louis XIV’s leading military engineer, Vauban famously said “Your Majesty, it would be easier to seize the moon with your teeth than to attempt such an undertaking in such a place”
The British raided Lie-d Aix in 1757 which brought forward once the plans to build Fort Boyard
The logistical problems once again kept this project from moving forward but in 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte brought the idea to life.
He appointed 2 engineers and an admiral to design the fort, and in 1801 construction began.
To make the fort possible a port was setup on Oleron. The village of Boyardville was built to house the workers.
Construction halted in 1809 but later resumed in 1837 under Louis-Philippe as tension with the United Kingdom rose.
Fort Boyard was completed in 1857 but was no longer needed as cannon technology had improved so much.
After 1871, Fort Boyard was briefly used as a military prison before being abandoned in 1913.
The fort slowly deteriorated but in 1950 it was made a listed or historic building and sold in 1961 to Charente Maritime Regional Council.
Since then Fort Boyard has been the filming location for the film “The Last Adventure” most popularly the tv show “Fort Boyard” which is almost like France’s version of Fear Factor.
Landed tours of the island were once possible but today only boat tours circle the island.

Source:
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Boyard_(fortification)

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