Discover the castle citadel, a listed historic monument

The Château-d’Oléron citadel is a military structure built to protect the southern part of the island of Oléron. It was built between 1630 and 1704, on the orders of Richelieu, on the remains of an ancient medieval castle. Vauban later modernized the citadel. For a long time, it served as a training and embarkation area for soldiers bound for Quebec.

It became a prison during the French Revolution and was listed as a historic monument in 1929. Occupied by the Germans during the Second World War, it was partly destroyed during a bombing raid in 1945, before being restored in 1959.

The citadel stands on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding countryside. The various traces of its construction are very much in evidence, the shell having been built during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Several buildings, bastions and casemates escaped destruction during the Second World War.

Among these buildings is the Porte Royale, located within the fortified enclosure. Built around 1640, this magnificent structure features a coat of arms on one side, probably attributed to Cardinal de Richelieu.

A large 17th-century building in the courtyard housed an arsenal, a food store, a flour store and a chapel. To the right of the portal was the logis du gouverneur de l’île d’Oléron.

On either side of this building are two bastions, now used for thematic exhibitions, one of which is devoted to the soldiers of New France, now Quebec.

Numerous guided tours are organized, especially during school vacations.
With a capacity of three hundred spectators, the Citadelle now hosts a wide variety of shows, conferences and meetings.