Come and discover the Chapelle de la Redoute, also known as the Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Marins.
The original building was constructed during the French Revolution to supply the redoubt further down the beach with explosives. Although the latter was abandoned for good in 1854, the building remains standing.
Almost immediately, the powder magazine became a place of procession, and was even blessed in 1859 as Notre-Dame-de-la-Redoute, in homage to its former affiliation. But it was in 1875 that its function took on its full meaning. On that day, a German ship carrying wine, the Margareth, was wrecked on the Petit-Bec beach. The inhabitants of the hamlet of La Rivière, part of Les Portes-en-Ré, came to the rescue of the survivors. In gratitude, the sailors had a statue of a crowned virgin carved in stone, which they presented to their benefactors. The statue was then installed at the top of the building. Five years later, the chapel reverted to the bishopric of La Rochelle and took the definitive name of Notre-Dame-des-marins.
Alas, during the Second World War, the army of the Third Reich razed the building to the ground, but agreed to preserve the statue at the request of the local people, who installed it in their church. And after the Occupation, in 1951, with the financial help of Suzy Solidor, a local celebrity at the time, the statue was installed on a pedestal on the site of her late chapel. In 1986, the municipality, with the help of an association founded for the purpose, restored the building to its original site.
As for the crowned statue, it regained its place at the top of its religious perch. It was blessed three years later, and since then has been the site of an annual pilgrimage on the same date.
When it came to rebuilding the chapel, the locals didn't let their imaginations run wild. Luckily, they had plenty of postcards at their disposal to reproduce an almost exact copy of the original.
Almost immediately, the powder magazine became a place of procession, and was even blessed in 1859 as Notre-Dame-de-la-Redoute, in homage to its former affiliation. But it was in 1875 that its function took on its full meaning. On that day, a German ship carrying wine, the Margareth, was wrecked on the Petit-Bec beach. The inhabitants of the hamlet of La Rivière, part of Les Portes-en-Ré, came to the rescue of the survivors. In gratitude, the sailors had a statue of a crowned virgin carved in stone, which they presented to their benefactors. The statue was then installed at the top of the building. Five years later, the chapel reverted to the bishopric of La Rochelle and took the definitive name of Notre-Dame-des-marins.
Alas, during the Second World War, the army of the Third Reich razed the building to the ground, but agreed to preserve the statue at the request of the local people, who installed it in their church. And after the Occupation, in 1951, with the financial help of Suzy Solidor, a local celebrity at the time, the statue was installed on a pedestal on the site of her late chapel. In 1986, the municipality, with the help of an association founded for the purpose, restored the building to its original site.
As for the crowned statue, it regained its place at the top of its religious perch. It was blessed three years later, and since then has been the site of an annual pilgrimage on the same date.
When it came to rebuilding the chapel, the locals didn't let their imaginations run wild. Luckily, they had plenty of postcards at their disposal to reproduce an almost exact copy of the original.
