ClaudeLustier

Spiral

A classic view of the staircase in spiral inside the Phare des Baleines (literally Lighthouse of Whales) on a rocky vantage point in the ÃŽle de RÃ©, West c...
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A classic view of the staircase in spiral inside the Phare des Baleines (literally Lighthouse of Whales) on a rocky vantage point in the ÃŽle de RÃ©, West coast of France. It is one of the last lighthouses still in use on the Breton coastline. In the past numerous whales beached regularly at the time of migration on the far West point of the island what gave the name to the lighthouse. To protect shipping from the threats along the Atlantic coast, Louis XIV asked Vauban Â– a famous military engineer and designer of fortifications Â– to devise plans to built lighthouses. The first one at Rochefort to protect the Â“Corderies RoyalesÂ”, the arsenal and the shipyard. The second and third lighthouses were erected on the ÃŽle-de-RÃ© and the other, the Phare de Chassiron, on the ÃŽle d'OlÃ©ron (Charente Maritime Â– France) The original Phare des Baleines was built first to warn the ships against the dangers at sea but also as a look-out post for enemy vessels. As I said, it was the original construction but its ninety feet height were not enough so the current tower was built. With its octagonal limestone shaped tower and almost two hundred feet, it is one of the highest in France while the staircase in spiral counts 257 steps. From 1949 until 1970, the current museum inside a building was an international training center for lighthouse keepers. Today, thousands of tourists visit every year the site and climb the steps in spiral to get a magnificent view on the ocean. Some sequences of the movie Â“The longest dayÂ” have been filmed on the beaches. http:--claude-lustier.artistwebsites.com-featured-spiral-planetoday-photography.html
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