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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The tower of the Lanterne, built in the 15th century between 1445 and 1468, is one of the three vestiges of the medieval fortifications of La Rochelle, with the towers Saint-Nicolas and the Chain. It was initially used as a lighthouse and bitter to guide ships, while playing a defensive role at the entrance to the port. Its name comes from its turret equipped with a lantern, but it is also known as the Garrot tower (related to the disarmament of ships), the Priests tower (in memory of the priests massacred in 1568 and 1798), and the Four Sergeants tower (in reference to political prisoners executed in 1822).

The tower was preserved despite the razing of the fortifications in 1629 and incorporated into the new enclosure in 1689. Between 1900 and 1914, it was restored by Just Lisch and then Albert Ballu to restore its medieval appearance. Its interior, divided into several rooms (dorber, cells, guard room), houses hundreds of graffiti engraved by marine prisoners between the 17th and 19th centuries, testifying to their detention. The present lantern is a modern reconstitution.

Ranked a historic monument in 1879, the tower peaks at 55 meters and consists of a 25 meters high cylinder topped by an octagonal arrow. Its spiral staircases, Gothic vaults and gargoyles (including two recreated in 2015 in tribute to the cartoonists Cabu and Wolinski) make this a remarkable example of medieval military architecture. Today run by the National Monuments Centre, it attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually.

The tower owes its completion in 1468 to the personal financing of Mayor Jehan Mérichon, whose room bears the name. Graffitis, written in stone by English, Spanish or Dutch prisoners, include representations of ships, poems and religious symbols. Some spaces, such as the bitter room or the Jehan Mérichon Hall, house contemporary works (1985) evoking confinement and freedom.

Its history reflects the religious and political conflicts of La Rochelle: massacres of priests during the Wars of Religion (1568), execution of royalist sergeants (1822), and the role of prison until the 19th century. The tower also illustrates the evolution of the port, from a medieval defensive work to a major heritage symbol of New Aquitaine.

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