The Chain Tower

The Chain Tower is the smallest of La Rochelle’s three towers, standing at just 24 metres high. However, this does not make it any less important, quite the contrary: it is even said that King Louis XI, who came to visit it in 1472, used a diamond to engrave an inscription on one of its windows… Along with the Saint-Nicolas tower, its role was to defend the entrance to the port, but also to allow ship traffic by manoeuvring the large iron chain that blocked the entrance to the Old Port. This is how it got its name. Although we don’t know the exact date of its construction, we do know that it comes straight from the 14th century, when La Rochelle was being adorned with its fortifications and its three iconic towers, built to protect it from enemy attacks, particularly from the English during the Hundred Years’ War. At one point, it was used as a prison to detain the town’s Protestant Huguenots, who fought against the Catholics during the 16th century’s Wars of Religion. It should be noted that La Rochelle was the capital of the Huguenots at the time, while the Kingdom of France was Catholic,. La Rochelle massively converted to Protestantism from 1530 onwards, making it a major target during the wars that broke out at the end of the 16th century . After numerous battles and a long siege in 1628, which finally led to the city’s capitulation, only 5,000 survivors were counted in La Rochelle. A dark period for a town that was once one of France’s most important ports… Anyway, this tower is a true testament to the history of what is now known as the White City, which thanks to its strategic location has once again become a well-developed and tourist-friendly town!