Camaret-sur-Mer

History and description

The tour dorée (golden tower) of Camaret-sur-Mer was constructed from 1689 by the engineer Traverse, during the third stay of Vauban in Brest. Its construction can be considered among the significant examples of transformation and reinforcement of the defences of the port-arsenal of Brest, which started six years earlier. It involved obtaining a fulcrum to bar the entry of the goulet de Brest to ships attempting to disembark. Five years later, incomplete, the tower received its baptism of fire when the English navy attempted to attack Brest and force their way through. In Brest at the time, Vauban organised an effective defence, which allowed him to repel the assailant. After this battle, Traverse rapidly completed the tower. It was a defensive tower built on five levels (including roofs), woven into a semi-circular artillery battery. The basement was used for food stores and gunpowder. The battery was surrounded by a moat which flooded at high tide. The tower, hexagonal in shape, was equipped with equipment allowing muskets to be fired. An arms cache took up the third floor and included a firing slot in its fireplace. The name tour dorée comes from the colour of the cement, in red brick.
In 1795, a stone fire (to burn approaching ships) was constructed to complete the defence.