Iles de Lérins
The Îles de Lérins are a small group of islands , located a few hundred meters off the coast of southern France near Cannes and consist of four islands : Sainte-Marguerite , Saint-Honorat , Saint-Ferréol and the Île Saint de la Tradeliere , the last two being very small are. Saint-Ferréol is eastern satellite of Saint Honorat, and Saint de la Tradeliere borders Sainte-Marguerite to the east. The Île Saint de la Tradeliere used to be a little larger than Saint-Ferréol; today it's the other way around. Their total area is 7.6 square kilometers. The name of the archipelago can be traced back to the Latin Lérinum .
History and myth
The largest island of Sainte-Marguerite is famous, among other things, for the prison for its noble prisoner, the man with the iron mask , who was described by Alexandre Dumas the Elder in his novel “ Le Vicomte de Bragelonne ” or “ten years later” (fr. Dix ans après ). The prison is said to have been on the island after D'Artagnan allegedly brought the imprisoned royal twin brother here on Lettre de cachet .
The second largest island of Saint-Honorat is home to a monastery that is still inhabited today, Lérins Abbey , which was founded by Saint Honoratus of Arles around the years 400 to 410 . Large numbers of bishops were trained in this monastery in the fifth and sixth centuries, including Patrick of Ireland .
During the French Revolution , the Îles de Lérins were renamed “Îles Marat et Lepeletier ”, in memory of the two politicians who were murdered during this period.
Bay in the southwest of the island of Sainte-Marguerite
View of Fort Royal from below
Fort Royal on Sainte-Marguerite
St Honorat Monastery
Web links
- L'île St Honorat: Géologie et botanique. In: abbayedelerins.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2007 (French).
- Les Îles de Lérins. In: voila-la-france.de. 2004, archived from the original on November 13, 2008 (illustrated tourist website).
Coordinates: 43 ° 31 ' N , 7 ° 3' E