VLOG-Cruise Fort Boyard/Île d'Aix August Superb discovery, treasure islands.

Hello everyone and welcome to mysteredumonde I hope you are well
Today, we are embarking on an exceptional adventure, a journey through time between land and sea in the footsteps of a one-of-a-kind construction.
the mythical fort boyar
initially planned under Louis XIV but considered too ambitious, this titanic project finally saw the light of day under Napoleon Bonaparte,
before being completed under Louis-Philippe. This fort, never used for military purposes, has become an icon of popular culture thanks
to the adventure television show broadcast in many countries that has captivated and still captivates millions of viewers around the world.
we will explore the fascinating history of this fort, from its audacious conception, to its abandonment, to its spectacular rebirth on our screens.
Get ready, dear friends, to dive into the depths of the history of Fort Boyard, a real treasure of 19th century engineering.
Fort Boyard is a unique and audacious architectural monument. it stands majestically between two jewels of the French Atlantic coast: the island of Aix and the island of Oléron.
It was erected right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a strategic position that once made it an ideal point of defense for the coast.
Its precise location is on a sandbar, known as "Longe de Boyard". This strip of sand extends into the stormy waters of the Atlantic,
providing a base for this colossus of stone. Construction on such a site was, at the time, considered a bold, even reckless, feat of engineering.
The very idea of raising an imposing structure in such an inhospitable environment has long been seen as folly.
With an oblong silhouette, the Fort is ideally positioned in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Located at a distance of 2,900 meters from the island of Aix
and 2,400 meters from the island of Oléron, it acts as a guardian between these two picturesque islands. Its strategic position had been chosen to create
an impenetrable line of defense against potential maritime attacks.
Measuring 68 meters long and 31 meters wide,
it offers a floor area of 2,065 square meters. By adding the various levels of the structure, its total surface extends to 2,689 square meters.
At the heart of this huge structure is an inner courtyard, an open space measuring 43 meters long and 12 meters wide.
With a total area of 565 square meters, this inner courtyard once served as a gathering place for the soldiers who were stationed at the fort.
the boundary walls are a real feat of engineering. Reaching 20 meters in height from the foundations,
these massive stone walls were designed to withstand the test of time and the elements.
The initial concept of Fort Boyard was born in the 17th century of 1666 under the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
The main reason for this construction was to strengthen
the defense of the arsenal of Rochefort, a strategic military site which, at the time, played a key role in the maritime power of France.
However, even if the idea of such a fortification made sense from a strategic point of view, it clashed
to an insurmountable technical and technological reality for the time. The tools and construction methods available during
the reign of Louis XIV simply did not allow to build a massive structure in the middle of the ocean, on a sandbank that disappeared
under the waves at high tide. The maritime technologies, engineering knowledge and construction materials of the time were
far from sufficient to carry out such a project.
The engineer Vauban, renowned for his genius in the field of military fortifications and his pragmatism, described the project as "madness".
Aware of the technical limitations of his time, he expressed his doubts by stating that it would be easier to "grab the moon with the teeth".
to undertake such a construction.
Despite the ambitious dreams of Louis XIV and his architects, the first project of Fort Boyard therefore failed to materialize.
The insurmountable challenges posed by the construction site in the open sea led to the abandonment of this daring project.
The sea, often unpredictable and fearsome, won this first battle, forcing the builders to postpone their vision to a future time............