Located between Ile d’Aix and Ile d’Oléron, Fort Boyard or Longe de Boyard, a fortification, is not only a world-famous monument, it also fascinates the world. There is a TV animation dedicated to his name. But apart from the animations that have made him a household name in the French-speaking world, he also has his own stories linked to the great personalities of France, if we only mention Napoleon Bonaparte. A history of France, a history of war that has become inseparable from the two places it separates on the open sea. Let’s talk about this monument and get to know it even better.
The story behind Fort Boyard
Fort Boyard is a French monument in the south of France. Its location is betweenÎle d’Aix andÎle d’Oléron, but it’s attached to the Île-d’Aix commune’s land registry, making it a totally strategic site for security and wartime attacks in the 19th century.
In fact, it housed military personnel protecting the Rochefort arsenal, a French naval base and shipyard in the town of Rochefort, the harbor, the mouth of the Charente and the port. It later became a prison due to its isolated, fortified quality.
In fact, the Fort Boyard project had already been put in place, but Vauban’s decision discouraged King Louis XIV, who ironically quoted: “It would be easier to seize the Moon with one’s teeth than to attempt such a task in this place”. It was only in 1801 that the project was resumed, despite the complexity of the project. At the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, being the First Consul of France, he had the power and decided to take over the project, measuring 80 by 40 square meters.
Work on Fort Boyard
This complexity, as well as the timing of the project, meant that the work took a little longer to complete. Implementation began in 1803 and only ended in 1957.
The real cause of many of the delays was the Anglo-French war between 1809 and 1841. Fortunately, nothing was left undone and the work was finally completed.
And once completed, the fort became almost unitive, becoming a prison until the Second World War, which the Germans targeted as a training ground. This is one of its weak points, as the fort is a little too visible for war. Again because of this weakness, the Fort was abandoned and even sold to Jacques Antoine for his TV show and game show.
Since the 90s, we’ve all seen the program bearing his name and produced on the spot. Despite this reputation, it is not open to the general public.
Don’t hesitate to take a boat trip from our campsite on the Ile de Ré to discover this emblematic monument of the Charente Maritime region!
