Built between 1694 and 1697, the Fort du Petit Minou was a fort built in the commune of

Plouzané Plouzané () is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. History The shores south of Plouzané are in a strategic location for the defense of the Goulet de Brest strait and were fortified by Sébastien Le P ...

in France to defend 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 ...

. It consists of 6m high masonry bastions, surrounded by a 3m deep and 9.5m wide moat. Vauban completed the defences along the goulet and at this fort installed 240 cannons and a command post for directing fire and coordinating the defences' magazines. It was reinforced in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the

phare du Petit Minou The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union. Originally created in 1989 a ...

being added nearby in 1848. The fort was occupied in 1940 as a German blockhouse and after the point's liberation at the start of September 1944 the remains of a former hôtel were demolished. After losing its military purpose, the fort was acquired by the commune and opened to the public in October 2007.

External links

Position of the Fort du Petit Minou
(general inventory)
Fort du Petit Minou
(photos)
Le fort du Minou on Plouzané's local site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Du Petit Minou Petit Minou Tourist attractions in Finistère