Cordouan Lighthouse

P4

The Lighthouse of Cordovan (French Phare de Cordovan ) at the height of the Gironde estuary, off the French Atlantic coast. He has been in operation, and thus the longest-serving lighthouse in France since 1611. The tower is automated since 2011.

Description

Cordouan Lighthouse stands on a plateau approximately in the middle of the Gironde estuary. The distance to the north and to the south bank is in each case about seven kilometers. Administratively, the lighthouse belongs to Le Verdon -sur -Mer in Medoc. He is white, 68 meters high and the diameter at the base is 16 meters. His fire is located at 60 meters height. It is generated by a high-pressure discharge lamp with a power of 250 watts. Its range is 22 nautical miles.

The tower has six floors. The ground floor is the portal on the first floor, the so-called " royal residence " ( " Appartement du roi "). On the second floor there is a chapel, which is often used for weddings. These three floors located in the oldest part of the tower, which dates from 1611. The projectiles Three to Six are in the 1790 age structure. The sixth floor is the fire.

Since 1862, the tower is run as a Monument historique. In the summer months it can be viewed from Le Verdon from.

Origin of the name

The islet Cordovan, today a liberated at low tide sand bank without vegetation appear on multiple cards in the years 1313, 1436 and 1550 under the name " Cordam ". In 1545 published cosmography of Jehan Allonfonsce and Paulin Secalart she appeared under the name " Ricordame ". It is the first document that mentions the existence of a fire on the top of a tower. In 1570, in the " La vraye et entière description du royaume de France " is mentioned ( " true and complete description of the Kingdom of France " ) by Guillaume Postel, the tower with the name " Tour de Corben ".

There are several independent legends and historical data from the existence of a medieval settlement on the island. Lancelot Voisin Henri, Count of Popeliniere, described his visit to Cordovan in 1591 and reported, according to the locals, the island was formerly connected with the coast and had the place name Lateran or Medina (Arabic village ). The country has fallen over time. The inhabitants of the region claiming that they had used the stones from the ruins of the village for the construction of several houses in the coastal town of Soulac. On the other hand, it is said that the medieval Muslim merchants from Cordoba (French Cordoue ) were asked to install a first beacon to avoid the then frequent accidents in the Gironde estuary. Or they themselves settled on the island, where they would have built a watchtower to guide their ships.

Architectural History

A predecessor building from the 14th century was soon abandoned; until the 16th century were only ruins. On March 2, 1584 issued Jacques II de Goyon de Matignon, the Governor of Guyenne, the architect Louis de Foix mission is to build on the rock island a new lighthouse. De Foix dedicated to the project 18 years of his life and invested his entire fortune, but died in 1602 before the end of construction. This completed his foreman François Beuscher in 1611. The tower was then 37 meters high.

1645 and 1719 the spire was destroyed twice and each constructed in subsequent years. From 1782 to 1789 Joseph Teulère director of works to increase the tower to its present height. 1980 should the tower be abandoned as operation and maintenance were considered too costly and because it was technologically obsolete. Founded in 1981, " Association for the preservation of the Lighthouse of Cordovan " ( " Association pour la sauvegarde du phare de Cordovan " ) but fought with success for its conservation. Between March and November 2005, the foundation of the tower was restored, at a cost of 4.5 million euros.

History of Technology

Over time the tower was fired with various fuels. After commissioning in 1611 we initially used a mixture of pitch, tar and wood. 1664 it rose to Tran. From 1727 coal was burned, before they switched to canola oil in 1823.

With metal mirrors began 1782, the entry into the optical technique. From 1790 it began after completion of the extension parabolic mirror and a rotatable storage. Specially designed for use in lighthouses Augustin Jean Fresnel developed the Fresnel lens, which was tested in Cordouan Lighthouse from 1823 for the first time. To this end, we installed a rotary lens apparatus of eight headlight lenses. This installation remained in operation until 1854 and was then replaced by a more modern lens apparatus, the 1896 belt lens followed.

From 1875 onwards they fired the tower with mineral oil; from 1907 with oil vapor. In 1948, the lighthouse was electrified with the help of two independent diesel generators. One three-phase alternating current used and an incandescent lamp of 6000 watt. 1976 added to a third generator. 1984 they exchanged the lamp with a xenon discharge lamp with 2000 Watts from, but did not meet the color requirements along with the red and green sector disks. It was therefore replaced by a halogen incandescent lamp in 1987. Today, in the center of the optical system emits a high-pressure gas discharge lamp of 250 watts, the halogen lamp still kept ready as a replacement.

References

Film

• Charles -Antoine de Rouvre (director), Jérôme Scemla: " France's most beautiful coastline," 3D documentary, Fr, 2011, 90 min. (Detail at min. 65)