En un regard
Le château en bref
The Fort de Bertheaume, on an islet accessible at low tide at Plougonvelin (Finistère), succeeded a castle whose existence is attested as early as 1474 and whose garrison took part in the Battle of Saint-Mathieu in 1512, before its destruction by Anglo-Dutch forces in 1558. Vauban established a battery there in 1689 to repel a possible English attack, then decided in 1694 to build a fort, whose plans were not presented until 1699. Construction began in 1700 under the direction of artillery officer Benoît de Musinot, with a bastion, a semicircular battery, a storehouse, a barracks and a powder magazine. A first footbridge connected the site to the mainland in 1835, and modern casemate batteries replaced the fort between 1880 and 1890. After the surrender of the German garrison on 8 September 1944, the fort never regained a military role. Acquired by the commune of Plougonvelin in 1992, it now houses an open-air theatre and an exhibition and restaurant space.