Cézembre is an island in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, in the

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Ill-e-Vilaenn'', ) is a departments of France, department of France, located in the regions of France, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named a ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, near

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

. The island is uninhabited, with a surface area of approximately 18 hectares (44 acres), a length of , and a maximum width of . The island features a fine sandy beach facing

on the south, and a steep and rocky coast around the rest of the island. As elsewhere in northern Brittany, the tidal range is among the highest in the world. Until the seventeenth century, the island could be reached on foot at low tide from Saint Malo. The island's beach is popular in summer with visitors arriving by yacht or motorboat and there are also regular shuttles from St-Malo, although landing is only possible at high tide. A small restaurant serves lunches and prebooking is essential. Cézembre was inhabited by a number of

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

s over the centuries, and featured a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

for a time. There were also five small chapels. The chapel dedicated to

Saint Brendan Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold ...

was built in 1420 by a hermit priest from Saint-Malo, Raoul Boisserel. Vauban fortified the island at the end of the seventeenth century, and it was used thereafter as a place of

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

, with cargo stored in Saint Brendan's chapel. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the Belgian Army installed a disciplinary company on Cézembre. Prior to its destruction during World War II,

's Oratory was a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

for unmarried women who would prick the nose of a wooden statue of the saint with a pin in the hope of a good marriage.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Germans and Italians strengthened the island's fortifications as part of the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...

. The Italian contingent was made up of two officers and just over one hundred sailors, included in the ''1st Atlantic Naval Infantry Division'' of the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

. During the

Battle of Saint-Malo The Battle of Saint-Malo was fought between Allies of World War II, Allied and German forces for control of the French coastal town of Saint-Malo in Brittany during World War II. The battle was part of the Allied breakout across France and took ...

in August and September 1944 the German-Italian garrison was heavily bombarded by land artillery, naval artillery, and air strikes, with 19,729 aircraft bombs, including phosphorus and

napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...

, and about 20,000 artillery shells hitting the island. Guns on the island contributed to the defense of St. Malo. The island's three-hundred-man garrison eventually surrendered to elements of the U.S. 83rd Infantry Division on 2 September 1944.

Post-war

As a result of this intense Allied bombardment, Cézembre's landscape is barren and pitted, although natural vegetation is returning. The island has not yet been completely demined, and for this reason most of the island beyond the beach constitutes a ''zone interdite'' (prohibited zone), with a barbed-wire fence and warning notices. After demining operations, the management of the island was transferred from the French ministry of Defense to the ''

Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas o ...

'' (coastal conservatory, an official French public operator) in October 2017, in order to further expand its natural protection and manage the historic and archaeology sites left on the island, including the ruins of chapels and burial sites.

Micronation

The unrecognized

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

Talossa Talossa, also known as the Kingdom of Talossa ( ), is one of the earliest micronationsfounded in 1979 by then-14-year-old Robert Ben Madison of Milwaukee and at first confined to his bedroom; he adopted the name after discovering that the word me ...

has claimed the island of Cézembre since 1982.

References

External links

More information on the island of Cézembre

Page on Cézembre from the Regional Council of Brittany

The official website of Talossa

Article about Cézembre by Italian magazine "L'Espresso"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cezembre Saint-Malo Islands Uninhabited islands of France Former populated places in France Vauban fortifications in France

World War II

Post-war

Micronation

See also

References

External links