La Halle aux Vivres doesn’t just ooze history it also has some striking architecture. So it’s little wonder that this fascinating museum in what’s known as the Brouage citadel in the Charente-Maritime is one of the Poitou-Charentes’ most popular tourist attractions.

The La Halle aux Vivres museum covers a number of themes. One is the history of the Brouage citadel itself, and it has a remarkable model of how the fortified village originally looked. Another is military history; the museum houses a permanent exhibition from the Centre européen d’architecture militaire.

In addition, the museum puts on temporary exhibitions about the area, its history and culture. It also works closely with the nearby Maison Champlain, which is dedicated to one the most famous sons of Brouage, Samuel Champlain, who is known as the ‘Father of New France’ and who founded Quebec City in 1608.

However, La Halle aux Vivres not only showcases history – it is part of history. Built in 1691, this remarkable building is 74 metres long. Indeed it rather resembles the longer Corderie Royale building in Rochefort where they made ropes and rigging. But the purpose of La Halle aux Vivres was not to manufacture ropes but to store food for the citadel and also if necessary for the French Navy.

Indeed, the word ‘vivres‘ in French means victuals or food supplies. Underneath its stunning brick arches the building was said to be able to store 720 barrels on the ground floor and 300 tonnes of wheat on the first floor. The barrels contained not just food but beer, wine and spirits – such as cognac – too. However, over the centuries the Halle became redundant as a food store and by the end of the Second World War was becoming a ruin. It was restored with the help of money from the French state, Poitou-Charentes regional council and the Charente-Maritime department in 1990.

La Halle aux Vivres is an important feature of the Brouage citadel. Built over many years from the 16th century – it was founded by Jacques de Pons in 1555 hence its original name Jacopolis – Brouage had two key roles. One was to supply salt to passing ships – especially fishermen heading off to catch cod in the Atlantic.The other was as a fortress to fight against the Protestant stronghold of nearby La Rochelle, and it was fortified by Louis XIII’s chief minister Cardinal Richlieu from the 1620s. Its history and importance as a site on the Atlantic coast of France are all recorded in the La Halle aux Vivre exhibitions.

Address and Contact Information
Halle aux Vivres
1, rue du Port
17320 Hiers-Brouage

Tel: +33 5 46 85 77 77
E-mail: brouage.grand-site@wanadoo.fr

Photo by thierry llansades / CC BY 2.0 image cropped