Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Pointe des Corbeaux lighthouse, located at the southeast end of the island of Yeu (Vendée), was erected in 1862 as an 11-metre square turret, equipped with a fixed red light. Accumulated to a masonry house body, it peaked at 19.50 metres above sea level. Its optics, originally supplied with vegetable oil, evolved to mineral fuels and an oil steam lamp in 1911. The lighthouse played a key role in navigation in this dangerous coastal zone.

In August 1944, the German army destroyed him when he retired, marking the end of the first building. The reconstruction took place in 1950 with a 19.20 metre concrete octagonal tower, equipped with a red flashing electric light (2+1) and a mercury tank. The architect Maurice Durand and the engineer Leconte led this project, also modernising the auxiliary housing. The lighthouse was automated in 1990 and remotely controlled from the island's great lighthouse.

Ranked a historic monument in December 2011, the site includes the tower, the guard house and its outbuildings, on a plot of 3,400 m2. Although not open to the public, there is still an active marine marker, with a range of 18.5 miles. Its history reflects the technical evolution of French lighthouses, from traditional fuels to electrification, as well as the impact of the conflicts of the twentieth century on coastal heritage.

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