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Origin and history

The dread of the Fanal de Port-Vendres, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales (Occitanie), is a military building erected in the second half of the seventeenth century. It is one of the fortifications designed by Vauban between 1673 and 1700 to secure the port of Port-Vendres, then strategic in the south of France. A green lantern lighthouse, integrated with the dread, signalled the entrance of the port with a range of more than five leagues in 1780, thus combining defensive and navigable functions.

The construction of the dread is dated exactly from 1693 according to the sources. The building, owned by the State, was listed as historic monuments by order of 6 June 1933, recognizing its heritage value as an emblematic fortified building. Today, it bears witness to the military engineering of Vauban and the historic importance of the port in the Languedoc-Roussillon region (now Occitanie).

The dread is located at the tip of the port, at the approximate address 18 Route de la Miranda, on the commune of Port Vendres (code Insee 66148). Its architecture reflects Vauban's principles, combining defensive functionality and adaptation to coastal relief. The sources mention a location accuracy considered "very satisfactory" (note 8/10), and photographs licensed under Creative Commons document its current state.

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