Phare des Grands-Cardinaux
MonumentHidden Treasure
Phare des Grands-Cardinaux, located in Hoëdic (Département 56), 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
- Hoëdic, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3212, -2.8349
- Mérimée Reference
- PA56000092
A granite sentinel standing on an islet battered by the currents of the Gulf of Morbihan, the Grands-Cardinaux lighthouse has been keeping watch over one of the most feared channels on the Breton coast since the 19th century.
History
Off the coast of the island of Hoëdic, at the south-east end of the Ponant archipelago, the Grands-Cardinaux lighthouse stands on an isolated reef that sailors have long nicknamed 'the ship's graveyard'. Built in the 19th century to mark out a particularly dangerous shipping lane, it embodies the French government's desire to control its coastline at a time when merchant shipping was becoming increasingly industrialised. Its slender silhouette, characteristic of deep-sea lighthouses with cylindrical shafts, stands out against the Atlantic sky with an austerity that commands respect. What makes the Grands-Cardinaux lighthouse truly unique is its extreme location: set on a rocky plateau just above the water's edge, it has no hinterland, no dunes or cliffs to cushion it. In heavy weather, the waves sometimes reach the lantern, more than twenty metres high. The successive wardens lived in radical isolation, cut off from the world during the long periods of winter swell, supplied by helicopter or canoe depending on the conditions. Now automated, like almost all French lighthouses since the end of the 20th century, it continues to emit a characteristic light signal that can be recognised from miles around. Its recent listing as a Historic Monument, in 2020, bears witness to a national awareness of the heritage value of these lighthouses on the high seas, long neglected in favour of land-based monuments. For lovers of maritime photography or pleasure boating, approaching the Grands-Cardinaux is a breathtaking spectacle: the white foam of the breakers, the dark granite of the tower and the westerly sky that changes every hour of the day create a vivid, harsh and sublime picture, the beauty of which has nothing to do with tourism. It's the beauty of the end of the world, reclaimed by the sea.
Architecture
The Grands-Cardinaux lighthouse takes the form of a cylindrical shaft made of local granite masonry, the dominant material in all Breton lighthouse-lighthouse construction in the 19th century, chosen for its resistance to salt spray and the repeated impact of the waves. The tower, estimated to be between 18 and 22 metres high, rests directly on the rocky plateau of the reef, with no artificial base, requiring a particularly careful foundation to ensure that the base was watertight. The interior is organised according to the standard plan for deep-sea lighthouses of the period: a cast-iron spiral staircase, screwed around a central axis, leads to the different levels - service room, keeper's accommodation, watch room and summit lantern. The lantern, crowned by a metal dome painted black or red according to beaconing conventions, originally housed a Fresnel lens of the third or fourth order, capable of projecting a beam of light recognisable to navigators. The exterior colour scheme - white tower with dark base and wrought-iron gallery - is in keeping with the aesthetic standards of the lighthouses of the Lighthouses and Beacons Service in the second half of the 19th century. The sturdiness of the whole, its assertive verticality on a bare rock base, gives it a remarkable plastic power, amplified by the absolute barrenness of the site.
Related Figures
Léonce Reynaud — directeur du Service des Phares et Balises (1846-1874), concepteur de la politique nationale d'éclairage côtier sous laquelle fut édifié le phareAugustin Fresnel — physicien dont les lentilles à échelons révolutionnèrent l'optique des phares français au XIXe siècle et équipèrent le feu des Grands-CardinauxLes gardiens de phare anonymes — générations de marins morbihannais qui vécurent en isolement extrême sur le plateau rocheux, consacrant leur vie à la sécurité maritime
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Phare des Grands-Cardinaux located?
Phare des Grands-Cardinaux is located in Hoëdic, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Phare des Grands-Cardinaux built?
Phare des Grands-Cardinaux dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Phare des Grands-Cardinaux open to visitors?
Phare des Grands-Cardinaux is currently closed to visitors.