Château Saint-Clair

The Château Saint-Clair is a former fortified castle located near the jetty of La Chaume in Les Sables-d’Olonne, in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France.

The fortress has its origins in the 12th century. Its present form largely dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, when it was rebuilt by the Princes of Talmont. In 1622 the Protestant leader Soubise seized the castle and strengthened its fortifications. It later served as a garrison under Louis XIII and was bombarded in 1796 by Anglo-Dutch forces. The State acquired the site in 1835; major restoration work took place between 1986 and 1994.

The castle has an ovoid plan with a courtyard enclosed by a defensive wall. Its best-known element is the square Tour d’Arundel, the 14th-century keep, notable for its rare machicolations resting on trilobed arches. This tower now supports the Phare de la Chaume (La Chaume lighthouse). A first navigational light was installed on the tower in 1593; in the 18th century it was the only lighthouse in the Vendée. The present appearance of the light results from restoration works carried out in 1857–1858. An orientation table dating from 1911 at the summit offers a wide panorama over the town, the harbour and the surrounding marshes. Another tower (the Tour d’Arbondelle) was demolished in the 17th century on the site of the present jetty; its name was probably altered to “Arundel” and transferred to the surviving keep.

Today the château houses the Musée de la Mer et de la Pêche (Museum of the Sea and Fishing). It is open to the public on a seasonal basis (typically from April to September), and visitors can climb the Tour d’Arundel for the view.