Cap Fagnet, situated meters above sea level , is the highest point of the Alabaster Coast. And yes higher than Etretat! We discover a sea and a sky with changing hues and moods, which have always inspired painters and writers. This high point was also a high historical and strategic place, sometimes Gallic fortress, sometimes stronghold of the Atlantic Wall.
With its rich biodiversity, Cap Fagnet is part of the European Natura network and is home to an ornithological reserve and a particular coastal flora. From the top of Cap Fagnet, you can see Yport and in the distance, when the weather permits, the cliffs upstream from Etretat! Place of pilgrimage since the 13th century, the Chapel of Our Lady of Salvation is a building registered as Historical Monuments on a classified site. Its ornaments ex-voto, stained glass windows, statues … , offered in thanks to the Virgin, and witnesses to the dangers encountered by sailors.
It has traditionally taken place on the first weekend in February since Each year, St. It has a characteristic hexagonal roof, from which the semaphore mast rose. What is the purpose of a semaphore?
The French Navy broadcasts weather warnings and bulletins to mariners and participates in the surveillance of French waters, sea rescue, signaling and pollution control. What is the difference between a lighthouse and a semaphore? Lighthouses light up to allow ships to find their way on the water. Semaphores monitor and control maritime spaces. A strategic place since antiquity, Cap Fagnet retains a wide ditch testifying to a Gallo-Roman oppidum and a series of blockhouses dating from the World War II.
Occupied by the Germans in June , the town hosts an important radar station located at Cap Fagnet and a German military hospital dug into the cliff. Many fortified structures of reinforced concrete and an imposing detection station were built on Cape Fagnet to spot ships, aircraft and to guide the firing of cannons. A recent archival discovery now sheds light on the destination of this underground shelter.
