Îlot des Capucins (''Islet of the Capuchins''; ) is a rocky

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

at the foot of a cliff in the commune of

Roscanvel Roscanvel (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. History List of Mayors Population Inhabitants of Roscanvel are called in French ''Roscanvelistes''. See also * Quélern *Communes of the F ...

on the

Crozon peninsula Crozon (, ; , , ) is a commune in the department of Finistère and the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. As well as the town of Crozon, the village of Morgat is part of the commune. Crozon is located on the Crozon penins ...

. Its name comes from a rock near the island, shaped like a praying monk. It has a strategic position at the entrance to the

goulet de Brest The Goulet de Brest (; ) is a 3-km-long strait linking the roadstead of Brest to the Atlantic Ocean. Only 1.8 km wide, the is situated between the Pointe du Petit Minou and the Pointe du Portzic to the north and the îlot des Capucins and t ...

and so a fort sited on it controlled the whole of

Camaret Bay Camaret Bay (; ) is a small bay on the north coast of Brittany, France. In 1694 it was the site of the battle of Camaret, a failed amphibious landing by Anglo-Dutch forces as part of an attempt to seize the nearby port of Brest. See also * ...

, with views stretching from pointe du Grand Gouin (to the southwest), to fort de Bertheaume (to the northwest). The fort was built in 1848 after plans drawn 150 years earlier by Vauban, built in

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

and made up of an underground battery (1890) and a rapid-fire battery (1890)Michel Dion, ''Batteries, réduits, tours, forts, casemates... de Camaret et Roscanvel, Association du Mémorial Montbarey'', Brest, 1996, 67 p. It was linked to the mainland by a bridge in 1859. On the heights overlooking the islet is an upper battery (1885) to the islet's right and left, a platform battery with an underground magazine (1897) and a mortar battery (1889).

References

External links

position of îlot des Capucins

îlot des Capucins
(photos) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilot des Capucins Capucins Tourist attractions in Finistère Landforms of Finistère Islands of Brittany