Phare métallique de Fromentine
2 Rue du Belvédère, 85550 La Barre-de-Monts, France
Name and Location
Construction and History
The Phare métallique de Fromentine was constructed in 1915 by Ingénieur Reynaud under the French Lighthouse Service ("Service des Phares et Balises"). It is an early-20th-century prefabricated iron lighthouse, typical of its era. The lighthouse was originally known as the Feu de Fromentine and remains a protected historic monument.
Architecture and Materials
The Phare métallique de Fromentine is a skeletal tower with an octagonal or hexagonal open-work structure set on a square base. It stands 10.05 meters tall from its base platform to the lantern rooftop. The tower's framework is made of riveted iron/steel painted in a rust-resistant finish, originally green and now often observed in pale grey.
Light and Navigation
The lighthouse's light apparatus details are unrecorded, but it remains an operational aid to navigation, believed still active although its exact characteristic (e.g., flash pattern and range) is not publicly documented. The focal plane is approximately 21 meters above mean sea level.
Accessibility and Visiting
The lighthouse stands on public land and can be viewed at close range from the Rue du Belvédère. There is no formal visitor centre or interior public access, and the tower itself is not open to the public. Visitors can reach the lighthouse by road D38 to Fromentine, then on Rue du Belvédère; parking is available nearby.
Notable Views and Landscape
The Phare métallique de Fromentine commands panoramic views over the Bay of Biscay, the Île de Noirmoutier to the northwest, and the coastal marshes to the south. It forms part of a landscape of low dunes planted with marram grass, adjoining sandy beaches popular with wind-surfers and shell-collectors.
Anecdotes and Folklore
None available.
Technical and Operational Details
The lighthouse's operational status is automated (no resident keeper), and its exact characteristic (e.g., flash pattern and range) is not publicly documented. The original Fresnel lens type and current lamp details are unrecorded in available sources.
Further Information
- OpenStreetMap "way/65005575"
- French Ministry of Culture database (Monument historique PA85000044)
- Wikidata Q22999048: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22999048
Details
| Name | Phare métallique de Fromentine |
|---|---|
| City | La Barre-de-Monts |
| Country | France |
| Coordinates | 46.8889209, -2.1423922 |
| Year of construction | 1915 |
| Stories | Many technical details—light characteristic, original lens type, range, keeper’s logbooks—are not publicly recorded and have therefore been omitted. |
| Architectural style | Skeletal tower (phare métallique) |
| Architect | Ingénieur Reynaud |
| Construction material | "Riveted iron/steel framework" |
| Focal height | 21 |
| Tower height | 10.05 |
| Access description | By road D38 to Fromentine, then on Rue du Belvédère; parking available nearby at the town’s beachfront lots. Pedestrian paths connect to the dunes. |
| Accessible | true |
| Parking | true |
| Landscape type | Low dunes planted with marram grass, adjoining sandy beaches |
| View description | Panoramic views over the Bay of Biscay, the Île de Noirmoutier to the northwest and the coastal marshes to the south. |
| Guided tours | false |
| Facilities | nearby cafés, beach amenities, sand-dune nature walks |
| Nearby attractions | ["wind-surfers and shell-collectors"] |
| AIS Radar | false |
| Automated | true |