Built between 1694 and 1697, the Fort du Petit Minou was a fort built in the commune of Plouzané

Plouzané

Plouzané is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-History:The shores south of Plouzané are in a strategic location for the defense of the Goulet de Brest...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to defend the goulet de Brest

Goulet de Brest

The Goulet de Brest is a 3 km long strait linking the roadstead of Brest to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 1.8 km wide, it is situated between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north and the îlot des Capucins and the Pointe des Espagnols to the south.At each turn of...

. It consists of 6m high masonry bastions, surrounded by a 3m deep and 9.5m wide moat.

Vauban

Vauban

Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...

 completed the defences along the goulet and at this fort installed 240 cannons and a command post for directing fire and coordinating the defences' magazines. It was reinforced in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the phare du Petit Minou

Phare du Petit Minou

The Phare du Petit Minou is a lighthouse in the roadstead of Brest, standing in front of the Fort du Petit Minou, in the commune of Plouzané. By aligning it with the phare du Portzic, it shows the safe route to follow for ships to enter the roadstead...

 being added nearby in 1848. The fort was occupied in 1940 as a German blockhouse and after the point's liberation at the start of September 1944 the remains of a former hôtel were demolished. After losing its military purpose, the fort was acquire by the commune and opened to the public in October 2007.

External links

• Position of the Fort du Petit Minou (general inventory)
• Fort du Petit Minou (photos)
• Le fort du Minou on Plouzané's local site