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Key figures

Origin and history

The bastion of Papegaut, located in Port-Louis, Brittany, derives its name from a privilege granted by Henry III to the bourgeois militias of Blavet: the right of papagaut, allowing them to train in firing at the archebus. Built between 1649 and 1653, it was part of the urban enclosure designed to protect the city and control access to Loc Malo Bay and Gavres peninsula. Its strategic location at the southeast end of the ramparts made it a key maritime surveillance point.

In 1706 a battery was installed there under the command of François de Laval-Montmorency. At the end of the 18th century, however, Louis Lazare d'Ajot considered space too small for effective defence. The site underwent major modifications in 1878, when Henri Coville built a new battery, with earth cuts and casemates. The ramparts were then lowered to the sea side, and the bastion, partially buried in a slope, lost part of its original structure.

Today, Papegaut remains only partially, surrounded by 17th-century walls reshaped in the 19th and 20th centuries. Ranked as a Historic Monument in 2023, it includes two buildings, its east and west enclosure walls, as well as the associated small powder box. These vestiges reflect the evolution of coastal defensive systems, between military adaptations and integration into the urban landscape. The site is now owned by the commune of Port-Louis, Morbihan.

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