The La Coubre Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in La Tremblade, in Charente-Maritime, in France. It is high and is the highest in the department. A museum tells the history of the different lighthouses that have existed in the region. It is possible to climb to the top from February to November.
Geography
The lighthouse is located in the "Pointe of La Coubre", 15 km from Royan and at the north of the Gironde Estuary, close to the Bonne Anse Bay. The "Pointe of La Coubre" and the sandbank separate the calm water of the Gironde Estuary, and to the north, the Atlantic Ocean. It is the highest Lighthouse in Charente-Maritime and guides the ships into the estuary, avoiding the sandbanks, where a lot of ships have wrecked.
History
In 1690, there was a beacon on the "Pointe de La Coubre". Some structures were later constructed during the 19th century, but they have since been destroyed.
In 1860, because of a number of shipwrecks, an imperial decree put in order the construction of a lighthouse, on the northern part of the estuary.
This wooden lighthouse would soon be replaced in 1895 by a 57-meter-high-stoned lighthouse. In 1892, the construction of this new lighthouse started, 1.5 km away from the ocean. However, 10 years later, the erosion threatened it. Therefore, a breakwater was built to try and slow the ocean.
It is decided to build a new one, 1.8 km away from the previous stoned lighthouse. This one was built with concrete and the stoned lighthouse collapsed in 1907.
In 2016, the 1905 lighthouse was repainted to be better seen by ships. A ton of paint was used during the 3-month-work.
Tourism and museum
After climbing the 300 steps among the opaline on the walls, visitors can seethe Wild Coast, the beaches, the La Coubre forest, the Gironde Estuary and the Cordouan Lighthouse. 100 years after the lighthouse was put into service, a museum was built to tell the history of the different lighthouses that have guided the ships. The museum has a few rooms where the history of the lighthouses is told, from 1699 to nowadays. In another room, marine objects are shown, a device measuring the fog, old lenses and other mechanisms.
