2. The Tour de Cordouan is the oldest lighthouse in France
There had been several predecessor beacons on the site of the Tour De Cordouan prior to its construction, the last of which was the first known to charge a toll for its services to the ships which passed it. Built over a period of more than 25 years beginning in 1584, the Tour de Cordouan is far more than a lighthouse, containing royal apartments designed as a temporary residence for the King of France. Since the King could be in attendance, a chapel for his use was necessary, and it was built in a cathedral style, one story above his apartments. The base is circular, designed as a fortress against both man and waves. Apartments for four lighthouse keepers were constructed in its base. The interior of the structure was built with typical French style for the period, with gilt moldings and trim, arched hallways and doors, domed ceilings, and mosaic tile roofs and sills. It was built primarily as a beacon for ships carrying the wines of Bordeaux.
Since it opened in 1611 it has been modified several times, both to change the means of illumination and to raise the height of the main beacon. Originally the source of light came from the burning of oak chips. In the 1790s the fuel was changed to a mixture of whale and olive oil, and later rapeseed oil. The lighthouse was the first to feature a rotating beacon, made possible by a movement devised by a clockmaker, kept wound by the lighthouse keepers. In the early 1820s the Fresnel system of rotating lenses was installed, which allowed the light from the flames to be focused over a greater distance, and thus seen earlier by ships at sea, allowing them more maneuvering room. A ninety foot tower was erected over the original tower during the reign of Louis XVI, which remains the tower containing the electrical lights (halogen) that guide sailors approaching the French coast at Gironde in the twenty-first century. Fully automated, the lighthouse retains keepers, who serve as guides for those wishing to visit the sumptuous apartments of the structure.