Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Fort Lapointe, also known as Fort Vasou, was built in 1672 on the right bank of the Charente, near its mouth at Fouras. First element of the defence system of the Rochefort arsenal, it housed several hundred soldiers and about fifty cannons. Its strategic role was to control maritime access to the neighbouring military port.

In 1757, the fort suffered damage during an English attack. After this battle, it was redesigned with the addition of a semicircular battery of 130 meters in diameter. Between 1860 and 1880, a barracks and a shell warehouse were added, modernizing its defensive capabilities. A project in 1848 already included the installation of ten artillery pieces and a guard corps for sixty men.

Decommissioned by the army in 1950, the fort was sold to an individual. Its last modifications date back to the late 1880s, with concrete platforms equipped with artillery rails. Since 2002, the whole is protected as historical monuments, bearing witness to three centuries of military history.

Located in Fouras in Charente-Maritime (New Aquitaine), Fort Lapointe illustrates the evolution of French coastal fortifications. Its architecture combines elements of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, reflecting successive adaptations to the defensive needs and technological advances of the era.

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