CITADELLE DE BROUAGE

Founded in 1555 by Jacques de Pons on a ballast deposit, Jacopolis sur Brouage was initially specialized in the salt trade. Wealthy and prosperous, it soon took on strategic importance and turned into a bone of contention between Catholics and Protestants. In 1627, Cardinal Richelieu became its governor and ordered his favorite architect, Pierre d'Argencout, to fortify the town, which was then transformed into a genuine bastion. Following his death, Brouage declined; in 1685, Vauban intervened and narrowed down the dimensions of the fortifications. Used during the French Revolution as a prison town, Brouage fell into a deep slumber, as though the sea had forgotten its existence in the heart of the marshland. Its reputation is also due to figures such as Samuel Champlain; born in Brouage around 1570, he founded the city of Quebec. And then there was Marie Mancini, exiled here in 1659 by her uncle, the cardinal of Mazarin, so as to keep her away from Louis XIV. Guided visits are proposed all year long by the Office de Tourisme: the port's history, the fortifications, the military edifices...