Fort Cigogne is a historic fort located on the Cigogne island in the Glénan archipelago, in Finistère. Inscribed as a historic monument, it is today leased to the Les Glénans sailing school. One tower also serves as a leading light.
The fort was built after 1717, in response to the occupation of the Glénan archipelago by corsairs. Corsairs continued to settle in the islands of Penfret or l'île aux Moutons, outside the range of the fort's cannons.
Throughout the 19th century, various construction campaigns were undertaken to complete the fort and adapt it to the evolution of artillery. The fort was decommissioned in 1899. The fort was then assigned to the Collège de France and served as a meteorological and ornithological observation post for the Concarneau Marine Biology Laboratory. A 20-meter tower was built on the southern wall in 1911, allowing the Marine nationale to test the speed of steam boats until the island of Groix. Today, Fort Cigogne is a historic monument, and restoration and redevelopment work was completed in 2024.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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