Dating from 1835, this lighthouse and its jetty were the town's first port facilities. The Vieux Môle proudly bears its 170 (or so) years. It is now so much a part of the harbour landscape that you'd almost forget that it marked a minor revolution in 1838.
Until then, Saint-Nazaire had only a small beaching port, accessible only at high tide and not at all suited to the intense maritime and river traffic of the time. With the shelter pier commissioned in 1838, ships, including passenger vessels from the Loire, were finally able to dock more easily.
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