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Origin and history

The lighthouse of the island of Yeu, located on the hillside of the Little Foule, was built to meet the demands of the sailors of the Gulf of Gascony, after the tragic sinking of the Active in 1827, which cost the life of 80 men. A first lighthouse, a 33 m cylindrical tower, was built in 1830 with a white fixed light, then electrified in 1895. A haze horn was added, modernizing its role as a maritime signal.

During the Second World War, the lighthouse was destroyed by the retired German troops in August 1944. It was provisionally replaced by a metal turret before a new lighthouse, designed by architect Maurice Durand, was built between 1950 and 1953. This second lighthouse, still in service, adopts a pyramidal structure in white masonry of 38 m, with a white flashing light visible at 23.5 miles.

Automatized in 1980, the lighthouse has been operating since the remote control of the lighthouse at the Pointe des Corbeaus. Its enclosure, including four guardhouses and technical buildings, was listed as historic monuments on November 29, 2011. Today it symbolizes both the island's maritime history and the technical advances of French lighthouses in the 20th century.

Before the 19th century, the church bell tower of Saint-Sauveur served as a bitter for navigators, illustrating the strategic importance of the island of Yeu in coastal signage. The current lighthouse, with its apparent stone base and extended range, perpetuates this tradition while integrating modern technologies.

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