Ar-Men Lighthouse

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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Ar-Men Lighthouse ('the rock' in Breton) is a lighthouse at sea built between 1867 and 1881 at the end of the Sein roadway, 10 km west of the island of Sein (Finistry, Brittany). Its construction, decided after the sinking of the corvette Sané in 1859, was a titanic challenge due to the isolation of the rock, submerged by the waves 90% of the time. Engineers Léonce Reynaud, Fenoux, and Paul Joly designed a bold project, requiring innovative techniques such as sealing iron bars in the rock to anchor the masonry.

The work, carried out by senan workers equipped with cork belts, progressed slowly: in 1869 only 25 m3 of masonry was laid after 42 hours of actual work. Despite dangerous conditions (a worker drowned in 1880), the lighthouse was completed in 1881 and then strengthened between 1897 and 1902 to withstand storms. Nicknamed Hell of Hell by the guards, he worked with teams of two men, picked up every 15 days — when the sea allowed. In 1921, goaltender Sébastien Plouzennec was swept away by a wave, illustrating the permanent risks.

Automatized in 1990 after 109 years of manual service, the lighthouse is now classified as a Historic Monument (2017). Its truncated architecture (37 m high), painted in black and white, houses an optical range of 40 km. As a symbol of human and technical resistance, he still inspired artists and writers, such as Jean-Pierre Abraham, guardian from 1959 to 1963, or Jules Verne, who evoked his construction in the Cynthia Epave (1885).

The life of the guards was rhythmic by the maintenance of the fire (ignored ignition/extinguishing), maritime surveillance, and storms that would cloister them for days. The surveys, carried out by cartahu (a back and forth system over the waves), could be cancelled for weeks — a record 89 days without refuelling in 1922. The isolation and tensions between guards, such as this anecdote by a man simulating his disappearance, added to the legend of the lighthouse.

During the Second World War, three German soldiers occupied the lighthouse, lighting fire only for the ships of the Kriegsmarine. Despite these tests, Ar-Men remains a masterpiece of engineering, a witness to the technical progress (electrification in 1988) and the bravery of the men who built and maintained it. Today, its maintenance is carried out by helicopter, but its condition concerns heritage associations.

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