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. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involve ...
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 G ...
. It was founded in 1665 and it was closed in 1926.
In December 1665 Rochefort was chosen by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
as a place of "refuge, defense and supply" for the
French Navy
The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
. Its military harbour was fortified by
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
's Commissary of Fortifications
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of the Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', mea ...
. Between 1666 and 1669 the King had the
Corderie Royale (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,
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 assault, amphibious attempt to capture the France, French Atlantic port of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years' War. The raid ...
, a 1757 British raid on Rochefort during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
.
References
External links
*
Installations of the French Navy
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
1665 establishments in France
1926 disestablishments in France
{{France-hist-stub