Fanspot
Richelieu dam
“When I had wandered for some time through these singular streets, I got on a small steamboat, black and pot-bellied, which was to take me to the Ile de Ré. It left with a huff, with an angry air, passed between the two ancient towers which guard the harbor, crossed the roadstead, came out of the dike built by Richelieu, and of which one can see at the water’s edge the enormous stones, enclosing the city like an immense collar; then it obliquediently turned to the right.”
Excerpt from L’Épave by Guy de Maupassant
The year is 1627. La Rochelle was then one of the main centers of Protestantism. Cardinal Richelieu decided to strike a blow and laid siege to the city. To prevent the city from being supplied by sea by his English allies, Richelieu decided to build a 1,500-meter long dike, thus preventing ships from reaching their destination. This colossal work allowed the surrender of the city. Today, some remains are still visible at low tide.
This is the same story that Guy de Maupassant tells in his short story L’Épave. The author tells the story of a young insurance company inspector, Georges Garin, who came to inspect a ship wrecked off the island of Ré. Arriving in La Rochelle from Paris, the man chartered a boat and went to the site, passing by the towers of the port and the famous dike known as Richelieu.
This is the second time that Guy de Maupassant evokes La Rochelle in his writings. The first time was in the short story Ce cochon de Morin published in 1882.
Richelieu Dam (1627)
The Richelieu Dam is a huge work decided by Cardinal Richelieu in 1627 to counteract the progression of Protestantism in La Rochelle.
On November 30, 1627, Cardinal Richelieu, with the help of the king’s architect Clément Métezeau and Jean Thiriot, a Parisian contractor, decided to build a 1,500-meter long dike, open in the middle, to isolate the city of La Rochelle from potential allies coming from the sea.
Particularly effective, the work helped the city fall into famine and to proceed to its surrender. Ironically, ten days after the surrender of the city, a strong storm swept away a large part of the construction and allowed many ships to pass through without any trouble. Today, some remains remain, visible at low tide and signaled by a tower at the entrance of the channel.
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