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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Fort Sarah Bernhardt is a creneled 1846 guard corps, built in 1859 at the point of the Poulans, at the extreme north of Belle-Île-en-Mer (Morbihan). Built under the Second Empire, this military fort was equipped with typical defences (levis bridge, mâchicoulis, murderers) and was part of a coastal surveillance system. It was disused after 1870 and sold as a national property in 1891 before being bought in 1894 by Sarah Bernhardt, who turned it into a summer residence.

Sarah Bernhardt, then international theatre star, fell under the charm of Belle-Île-en-Mer and acquired this "uncomfortable and inaccessible" fort, which she rearranged with windows, theatrical decorations and a vast estate of 46 hectares. For 30 years (1894-1922), she spent her summers there, surrounded by her exotic menagerie, her family and prestigious guests like King Edward VII. It drew inspiration and rest, describing the island as a "paradis" and a "rare diamond iridescent by the sea".

The estate included two villas (Lysiane and Les Five Parties du Monde), a farm, tennis courts and a garden, all lined with a wall to preserve its privacy. Forced to sell in 1922 for financial and health reasons, Sarah Bernhardt died a year later, without being able to fulfill her vow to be buried in front of the sea. The site, left abandoned, was purchased by the Conservatoire du littoral in 2000 and transformed into a museum.

Ranked a historic monument in 2000 and labeled Maisons des Illustres in 2011, the fort now houses a museum retracing the life of the actress, with reconstructions of her decors and personal objects. Part of the original estate became the Belle-Île-en-Mer golf course. The museum, managed by the community of communes, attracts 25,000 annual visitors and preserves the memory of this emblematic figure of French cultural heritage.

The site also preserves traces of 18th and 19th century coastal fortifications, including semicircular batteries and a coast guard post. During the two world wars, he was temporarily reoccupied for military purposes: surveillance of the lighthouse in 1939-1940 and destruction of the Penhoët mansion by the Germans in 1944. The villas also housed German troops during the occupation.

Future

It was transformed into a Sarah Bernhardt museum in the 2000s.

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