The King of Lighthouses: Cordouan

The Cordouan lighthouse is located 7 kilometers at sea, on a rocky tableland, at the mouth of the Gironde river and faces the Atlantic ocean and the French coasts of Médoc and Charente-Maritime. It was listed a Historical Monument in 1862 at the same time as the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris.

The Cordouan lighthouse, Atlantic Coast of France.

Image source : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cordouan.jpg

The name would come from Cordoba, when in the Middle-Ages, the Spaniards installed commercial activities in the region and wished to protect their ships.

In the XIVth century, Edward, the Black Prince, Governor of the then British province of Guyenne, ordered the construction of a tower. A hermit was in charge of maintaining the fire on top. The edifice was soon abandoned and fell into disrepair. Two hundred years later, the hazards to navigation threatened the Bordeaux wine trade and the Maréchal de Matignon, in presence of the famous Montaigne decides to build a lighthouse.

Louis de Foix will be the engineer-architect of this « royal work » devoting his wealth and efforts over a period of 18 years followed by his ruined son. François Beuscher will fulfill the contract 27 years after its signature.

A small dome existed in the XVIth century which was destroyed by a hurricane. In 1719, the uper part was demolished and rebuilt by the engineer-in-chief of Bordeaux fortifications. From 1782 to 1789, Joseph Teulère, another engineer, raised the tower by 30 meters keeping the basement and two floors in the Louis XVI style. The rest of the building belongs to the Renaissance. The lighthouse then culminates 60 meters above the ocean. The oil lamps were replaced by the first Fresnel lens in 1823 and electrification took place in 1848.

The Cordouan lighthouse can be visited and includes 6 floors. On the first floor can be found the King’s Apartment (1664) with its gallery overlooking the ocean. This vaulted room has a real fireplace, is paved with black and white marble and the pilasters show the monograms of Louis XIV and his wife Marie-Thérèse. The King of France never came to Cordouan though. The chapel is on the second floor, it is surmounted by a carved vault presenting 8 bays and decorated with stained glass windows. Each year, weddings are celebrated here. The third floor is called «  Room of the Girondins » (from the name of the inhabitants of the region). From there, one can observe the complex architecture of the tower and large staircase leading to the lantern. The fourth and fifth floors are used as landings. Between the fifth and sixth floors is situated the lighthouse keepers’bedroom. On the sixth floor is the lantern. The combustibles (namely whale oil) were raised with a pulley through the orifices pierced in the center of the pavement before electrification.

In 2005 works of consolidation were made on the plateau to shelter from the assaults of the heavy swell. In service since 1611, generations of men worked here, watching, maintaining, cleaning and welcoming visitors. It is said that it might be put an end to human presence in Cordouan within a few months.

The Cordouan lighthouse

Image source : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cordouan3.jpg

The Atlantic Ocean from the Cordouan lighthouse.

Image source: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cordouan5.jpg

In the chapel of the Cordouan lighthouse.

Image source: http:fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Cordouan4.jpg