Lérins Islands

The Îles de Lérins are a small group of islands about 5 miles off the southern coast of France near Cannes consisting of four islands: Sainte -Marguerite and Saint- Honorat, Saint- Ferréol and the Ile Saint de la Tradelière, where the last two are very small. Saint- Ferréol is satellite of Saint Honorat in the East, and Saint- Ferréol is bordered to the east by Sainte -Marguerite. The Ile de la Saint Tradelière was formerly slightly larger than Saint- Ferréol; Today the situation is reversed. Their total area covers 7.6 square kilometers. The name of the island group can be traced back to Latin Lerinum.

History and Myth

The largest island of Sainte -Marguerite is famous among other things for the prison for their high noble prisoners, man in the iron mask, which by Alexandre Dumas the Elder in his novel " Le Vicomte de Bragelonne " or " ten years later " ( fr. Dix ans après ) has been described. The prison is said to have been on the island after D' Artagnan had brought the captive royal twin brother to King command here.

The second largest island of Saint- Honorat is home to the country still inhabited monastery, the Abbey of Lérins, founded around the year 400-410 by Saint Honoratus of Arles. In this monastery, a large number of bishops was trained in the fifth and sixth centuries, including Patrick of Ireland should have been.

During the French Revolution were the Îles de Lérins renamed " Îles Marat et Lepeletier ", the two murdered during this time politicians in memory.

Pictures

View of Fort Royal from below

Prison cell from the man in the iron mask on the island of Sainte -Marguerite

Fort Royal on Sainte- Marguerite Fort Royal

The Monastery of St Honorat