The Pointe des Espagnols is the north-east extremity of the

Roscanvel Roscanvel (; br, Roskañvel) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Roscanvel are called in French ''Roscanvelistes''. See also * Quélern *Communes of the Finistère depart ...

peninsula, an outgrowth of the Crozon peninsula closing off the

roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (''rade de Brest'') is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq mi). The port of Brest and one of the two French naval ba ...

. It also marks the south-east limit of 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 the Po ...

(the other limits are marked by pointe des Capucins, pointe du Petit Minou and pointe du Portzic). Formed by a cliff that is more than 60m high, at whose summit and base are the remains of fortifications and barracks, the point reaches towards the north-east via the rocher de la Cormorandière, marked by a pole. The straight channel situated between the point and the rocher is the location for strong currents which affect the roadstead. This strategic position, facing Brest, was already noted by the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, who sited a fortlet there in 1387 (now lost). In 1594, Spaniards landed here and were only dislodged after several battles - it was in this period that the cape first took on its present name.

Battle of 1594

Fortifications

The known works are:Michel Dion, ''Batteries, réduits, tours, forts, casemates... de Camaret et Roscanvel'', Association du Mémorial Montbarey, Brest, 1996, 67 p. * Fortlet (''fortin'') of the Dukes of Brittany (1387) - Disappeared * Fortin des Espagnols (1594) - Disappeared * Lower battery (1695) - built to plans by Vauban, on a platform re-using a mine at the bottom of the cliff * Fort (1749) - * Tour modèle n°1 (1812) - see Tour-modèle type 1811. Battlements destroyed by the Germans * Underground battery (1888) - embrazures topped by a German blockhouse in 1942 * External battery (1890 - 1891) * Magazines and underground battery (1890) * DCA battery (1942)

Notes

External links

Fort des Espagnols
(general inventory)
fortifications
(photos) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pointe Des Espagnols Geography of Brest, France Fortifications of Brest, France Tourist attractions in Finistère