Cordouan lighthouse

Cordouan lighthouse
	The Cordouan lighthouse at low tide
Location:	Le Verdon-sur-Mer commune in the Médoc
Location:	Gironde estuary off the French Atlantic coast
Geographical location:	45 ° 35 '11 " N , 1 ° 10' 24" W Coordinates: 45 ° 35 '11 " N , 1 ° 10' 24" W.
Optics:	Fresnel lens
Construction time:	1584-1611
Operating time:	since 1611

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The Cordouan lighthouse at high tide

The Cordouan lighthouse ( French: Phare de Cordouan ) stands at the height of the Gironde estuary off the French Atlantic coast. It has been in operation since 1611, making it the longest-serving lighthouse in France. The tower has been automated since 2011 and has been recognized as a World Heritage Site since 2021 .

description

The Cordouan lighthouse stands on a rocky plateau roughly in the middle of the Gironde estuary. The distance to the north and south banks is approximately seven kilometers each. Administratively, the lighthouse belongs to the municipality of Le Verdon-sur-Mer in the Médoc . It is white, 68 meters high and the diameter at the base is 16 meters. Its fire is at a height of 60 meters. It is generated by a high-pressure discharge lamp with an output of 250 watts . Its range is 22 nautical miles .

The tower has six floors. The portal is on the ground floor and the so-called “royal apartment ” (“apartment du roi”) is on the first floor . In fact, many kings had great sympathy for the building, which the French call the king of lighthouses - lighthouse of kings . However, none of the French rulers was on the tower itself. There is a chapel on the second floor, which is often used for weddings. These three floors are in the oldest part of the tower, which dates from 1611. The floors three to six are in the structure completed in 1790. The fire is on the sixth floor.

The tower has been listed as a monument historique since 1862 . In the summer months it can be visited from Le Verdon.

The lighthouse was entered on the tentative list as a candidate for the world cultural heritage on February 1, 2002 . In 2021 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it was an artistic, craft and technological masterpiece, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

origin of the name

The islet Cordouan, today a sandbank with no vegetation that is released at low tide, appears on several maps in the years 1313, 1436 and 1550 under the name "Cordam". In the cosmography published by Jehan Allonfonsce and Paulin Secalart in 1545, she appeared under the name "Ricordame". It is the first document to mention the existence of a fire on the top of a tower. In 1570 Guillaume Postel mentions the tower with the name "Tour de Corben" in "La vraye et entière description du royaume de France" ("True and complete description of the Kingdom of France").

There are several independent legends and historical dates of the existence of a medieval settlement on the island. Henri Lancelot Voisin, Count of Popeliniere, described his visit to Cordouan in 1591 and reported that, according to the locals, the island used to be part of the coast and had the place name Lateran or Medina (Arabic place ). The country has sunk over time. Local residents claim that they used the stones from the ruins of the village to build several houses in the coastal town of Soulac-sur-Mer . On the other hand, it is said that the medieval Muslim merchants from Córdoba (French: Cordoue ) asked for a first beacon to be installed in order to avoid the frequent accidents in the Gironde estuary. Or they would have settled on the island themselves, where they would have built a watchtower to guide their ships.

Building history

A previous structure from the 14th century was soon abandoned; Until the 16th century there were only ruins. On March 2, 1584, Jacques II de Goyon de Matignon , the governor of Guyenne , commissioned the builder Louis de Foix to build a new lighthouse on the rocky island. De Foix devoted 18 years of his life to the project, investing all of his fortune, but died in 1602 before construction was complete. This was completed by his foreman François Beuscher in 1611. The tower was 37 meters high at the time.

The spire was destroyed twice in 1645 and 1719 and rebuilt in the following years. From 1782 to 1789, Joseph Teulère directed the construction work to increase the tower to its present height. In 1980 the tower was to be abandoned because it was considered too expensive to operate and maintain and because it was technologically out of date. The "Association for the Preservation of the Cordouan Lighthouse" (" Association pour la sauvegarde du phare de Cordouan "), founded in 1981, successfully fought for its preservation. The foundation of the tower was renovated between March and November 2005 at a cost of 4.5 million euros.

Technology history

In the course of time the tower was fired with different fuels. After it was commissioned in 1611, a mixture of pitch , tar and wood was used. In 1664 they switched to Tran . From 1727 coal was burned before switching to rapeseed oil in 1823 .

The entry into optical technology began in 1782 with metal mirrors. From 1790, after the extension was completed, parabolic mirrors and a rotatable bearing were used. Augustin Jean Fresnel developed the Fresnel lens especially for use in lighthouses , which was first tested in the Cordouan lighthouse from 1823. For this purpose, a rotating lens apparatus consisting of eight headlight lenses was installed. This installation remained in operation until 1854, when it was replaced by a more modern lens apparatus, which was followed by a belt lens in 1896.

From 1875 the tower was fired with mineral oil ; from 1907 with oil vapor . In 1948 the lighthouse was electrified with the help of two independent diesel generators . Three-phase alternating current and a 6000 watt incandescent lamp were used. In 1976 a third generator was added. In 1984 the lamp was exchanged for a xenon gas discharge lamp with 2000 watts, which, however, together with the red and green sector discs, did not meet the color requirements. It was therefore replaced by a halogen lamp as early as 1987. Today, a high-pressure gas discharge lamp of 250 watts shines in the center of the optics , the halogen lamp is still kept ready for use as a replacement.

sightseeing

The Cordouan lighthouse is the only lighthouse in the middle of the sea that can still be visited regularly today. From Royan , Le Verdon-sur-Mer and Meschers-sur-Gironde , ships sail to the lighthouse from Easter to All Saints' Day.

References

Movie

Charles-Antoine de Rouvre (director), Jérôme Scemla: "France's most beautiful coasts" , 3D documentary, Fri., 2011, 90 min. (Excerpt at min. 65)

philately

In a philatelic tribute to the lighthouse, the French Post issued a postage stamp with a value of 3.50 francs in 1984 , the design by the graphic artist Gauthier, and in 2019 with a value of 1.05 euros .