Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The German support point Lgs082, i.e. 14 constructions : 1 Ringstand Bf236, 4 Ringstand Bf58c, 5 Bf52a, 3 tanks, 1 casemate R612 (commonly known as blockhouse of Tearhouses), in full, including its plate floor, as delimited in red on the plans annexed to the decree, located Camps de la Ribera (cad. AV 42, 43 and partly on the public maritime domain): inscription by decree of 10 December 2019
Key figures
Guillem Castellvi - Specialist in bunker archaeology
Author of the inventory of German fortifications.
Origin and history
The German support point LGS082 is a military site built between 1943 and 1944 on Torreilles beach, in the Eastern Pyrenees. It is part of the Mediterranean Wall, a defensive device designed to prevent allied landing. The site includes a casemate R612 (called Torreilles Blockhouse), 13 other buildings (shelters, tanks, ammunition depots), and could accommodate 50 soldiers. It is the first Mediterranean blockhouse classified as Historical Monument (2019), thanks to its exceptional state of conservation.
Built by Torreilles residents requisitioned as part of the STO, the site illustrates the German occupation of the "free" zone after November 1942 (Plan Anton II). Unlike other coastal structures, it escaped the post-war destruction and tourist urbanization of the 1960s. A study by Guillem Castellvi, specialist in German fortifications, allowed his inventory and protection. Casemate R612, equipped with a camouflage of pebbles embedded in the concrete, covered the south access of the support point.
The Mediterranean Wall extended from Cerbère to Barcarès, with coastal batteries (Port Vendres, Le Barcarès) and support points such as Torreilles. These fortifications, standardized but adapted to the sandy terrain, were designed to slow down a landing. In the Pyrénées-Orientales, around 150 support points were erected between 1942 and 1944, often by local companies or the Todt Organisation. After the Liberation (August 1944), most were destroyed, but 250 bunkers remain today.
The Torreilles site, located at the mouth of the Agly between sea and dunes, consists of two partially buried plots (AV 42 and 43). Its 14 buildings include Ringstands (fire stations), soldier shelters (Bf52a), and tanks. The rear shelters were used for ammunition storage and staff protection. The blockhouse, with its masonry walls and pebbled roof, is representative of German military architecture in the coastal zone.
Ranked as a Historic Monument in December 2019, the site needs to be renovated to accommodate a memory center and a art gallery. This protection is part of a desire to preserve the Second World War heritage, often threatened by erosion and urbanization. The support point LGS082 remains the only one on the Catalan coast to retain a cannon casemate, testifying to the defensive history of southern France during the occupation.
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