Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux
MonumentHidden Treasure
Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux, located in Bordeaux (Gironde), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Bordeaux, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- Mérimée Reference
- PA33000102
At the heart of the port of Bacalan, Bordeaux's two dry docks are spectacular 19th-century industrial facilities that bear witness to the Gironde's maritime heyday.
History
Discreet to the eye of the hurried stroller, but fascinating to those who know how to look at them, the two dry docks in Bordeaux's wet docks are a little-known jewel in the crown of France's industrial port heritage. Nestling in the Bacalan district on the left bank of the Garonne, they bear eloquent witness to the maritime ambitions that drove the city at the end of the 19th century, when Bordeaux set out to establish itself as one of the great Atlantic ports of the French Empire. In maritime parlance, a dry dock is an artificial basin into which a ship can enter to inspect, repair or clean its hull once the water has been drained. This is sometimes referred to by laymen as a "dry dock". Here, the two forms interact thanks to shared machinery housed in the interstitial space that separates them, and open onto the dock closest to the river, itself linked to the Garonne by two locks. The system thus forms a coherent hydraulic system of remarkable sophistication for its time. A visit to these forms brings you face to face with the carved stone: the interior walls, tiered in successive steps, form a mineral amphitheatre of austere beauty. When the grazing light of the Atlantic afternoon slips into these cavities, it reveals the precision of the stonework and the robustness of a structure designed to last for centuries. For lovers of industrial architecture, maritime history or simply unusual places, this is an extraordinary experience. Listed as Historic Monuments in 2008 and again in 2023, the Bacalan dry docks are part of the renaissance of Bordeaux's port district, which has become one of the city's most dynamic sectors with the opening of the Cité du Vin and the redevelopment of the old warehouses. Protecting these buildings reflects a healthy realisation that the port's industrial heritage is irreplaceable and an essential part of the economic and social identity of modern France.
Architecture
The two dry docks at Bacalan are technically rigorous civil engineering structures, typical of the industrial architecture of the late 19th century. Dug into the ground and surrounded by quays, they take the form of large rectangular basins, the inside walls of which are built of carefully dressed ashlar. The most striking feature of their profile is the stepped or stepped arrangement of these walls: far from being decorative, this arrangement helps to resist the pressure of the surrounding land and to provide lateral access for the workers in charge of careening. The entire hydraulic system, which forms the technical core of these structures, is housed in the common space between the two forms. Pumps, valves, mechanisms for operating the gates: this machinery, typical of the hydraulic engineering of the industrial era, illustrates the degree of sophistication achieved by French port builders at the time. The gates themselves, which open onto the wet dock, are designed to withstand the differential pressure of the water and ensure a perfect seal when the dock is put out to dry. The exclusive use of cut stone for the walls of the basins reflects a desire for durability and traditional know-how applied to resolutely modern programmes. This choice of material, in stark contrast to the metal and concrete constructions that were becoming widespread at the same time, gives the Bordeaux dry docks a monumental sobriety and a solidity that will stand the test of time, two centuries after they were built.
Related Figures
Ingénieurs des Ponts et Chaussées du département de la Gironde (concepteurs des bassins à flot de Bacalan, fin XIXe siècle)Louis-Urbain Aubert de Tourny (intendant de Guyenne, initiateur des premières grandes transformations du port de Bordeaux au XVIIIe siècle)Jules Steinheil (directeur des travaux du port de Bordeaux dans les années 1870-1880)Gustave Eiffel (ingénieur actif à Bordeaux à la même époque, notamment pour le pont de fer, contemporain du chantier des bassins)Armateurs bordelais de la Compagnie des Chargeurs Réunis (principaux utilisateurs des formes au tournant du XXe siècle)
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux located?
Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux is located in Bordeaux, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux built?
Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux open to visitors?
Deux formes de radoub des bassins à flot du port de Bordeaux is currently closed to visitors.