The Arsenal de Rochefort was a French naval base and
dockyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
in the town of
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
. It was founded in 1665 and it was closed in 1926.
In December 1665 Rochefort was chosen by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert as a place of "refuge, defense and supply" for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. Its military harbour was fortified by
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
's Commissary of Fortifications
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. Between 1666 and 1669 the King had the ''
Corderie Royale
The ''Corderie Royale International de la mer'' is a vast museum complex located in the heart of the maritime Arsenal de Rochefort. The building built in 1666 has been classified as a historic monument since 1967, and currently a candidate for i ...
'' (then the longest building in Europe) constructed to make
cordage for French
ships of war.
The making of cordage ceased in 1867 and in 1926 the Arsenal de Rochefort was closed.
Gallery
Porte arsenalRochefort.jpg,
Tor 02.JPG,
Rochefort Corderie vue sud1.JPG,
Fête de la sortie sur la Charente de la coque de la frégate L' Hermione (1).JPG,
Forme double Rochefort.jpg,
Rochefort radoub porte.JPG,
Drapeau de la ville de Rochefort-sur-Mer (18).JPG,
Tor 08.JPG,
See also
*
Raid on Rochefort
The Raid on Rochefort (or Descent on Rochefort) was a British amphibious attempt to capture the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years' War. The raid pioneered a new tactic of "descents" on the French coast, ...
, a 1757 British raid on Rochefort during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
.
External links
*
Installations of the French Navy
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
1665 establishments in France
1926 disestablishments in France
{{France-hist-stub