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Origin and history

Fort de l'Estissac is a military structure built between 1634 and 1640 by order of Richelieu, on the island of Port-Cros near Hyères. It was part of a defensive system including the forts of the Moulin, Eminence and Port-Man, designed to counter the Spanish threat. Its strategic position, 100 metres above sea level, made it a key point of surveillance and protection.

In 1793, during the siege of Toulon, the English partially destroyed the tower of the fort. Under the First Empire, Napoleon I ordered his restoration between 1812 and 1813, adding a square tower to replace the part that destroyed and modernized the interior buildings. The fort remained in service until its disarmament in 1885, before being listed for historical monuments in 1947.

Today, the fort belongs to Port-Cros National Park and is visited in summer. It houses exhibitions on the park and retains its original fortifications, including a bastioned enclosure, a triangular ravelin and a hybrid tower (square and semicircular). Its architecture reflects the successive adaptations related to conflicts and military developments.

The remains show an Italian route, with flanked projections and a straight bastion. The current barracks date from the Napoleonic restoration, while the upper platform, with scauguettes, offers a panoramic view of the Mediterranean. The fort illustrates the evolution of coastal defensive strategies between the 17th and 19th centuries.

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