Discovering the citadel of Saint Martin de Ré

Have you just booked your next holiday on the Ile de Ré and are you looking for sites to visit? The Ile de Ré is full of historical monuments and has a rich cultural heritage beyond its natural landscapes and local gastronomy. An ideal destination for a stay with family or friends, but also for a trip far away, we now offer you an unmissable visit, the citadel of Saint Martin de Ré. 
 
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Also known as the Vauban citadel, this historic site in the heart of the old fishing town of Saint Martin de Ré and only twenty kilometres from La Rochelle, is a must if you are a lover of history and architecture. Even before you reach the citadel, you will be seduced by the entrance gates into the town called Porte des Campani and Porte de Thoiras. 
A true military masterpiece, the citadel was built in 1690 thanks to Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, a military engineer in the service of Louis XIV, who gave his name to the site. Designed with a defensive purpose in mind, the citadel was originally intended to defend the island, which was easily accessible to the enemy fleet, especially the English. Built according to a square plan surrounded by ditches and ramparts, the citadel could thus accommodate 1080 soldiers and more than 30 officers, who entered its enclosure through a single entrance, that of the royal gate. The interior of the citadel consists of a chapel, a barracks, an arsenal, the bastion basements and the officers' pavilion, all decorated with historical and architectural details.
 
Several years later, in 1873, the citadel was transformed into a penitentiary centre and was used in particular as a meeting point for prisoners destined for the penal colony, before their journey to the forced labour centres of New Caledonia and those of French Guyana, whose journeys lasted several months. Indeed, the prison was an obligatory stage before transport by boat to the prison. The citadel sometimes housed more than 1,000 inmates, who were often mistreated but whose conditions improved before departure to ensure their survival during the journey. Among the prisoners who stayed at the citadel are the famous Captain Alfred Dreyfus or Henri Charriere said Butterfly.
Following the abolition of the transport of prisoners in 1938, the citadel of Saint Martin de Ré kept its prison character and became a central house, which today still has a capacity of 485 prisoners, making it the largest central house in France but also the largest employer on the island of Ré with 285 employees. Visits to the historic site are organised by the tourist office as well as night visits around the ramparts on summer evenings. 
 
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