Fort Lupin, also known as Fort de la Charente, is an artillery battery in Saint-Nazaire-sur-Charente, in the department of Charente-Maritime. It was built in the 1680s to a design by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, and it is now in good condition.
The fort consists of a semi-circular gun battery ringed by a parapet with twenty-two embrasures. A tour-réduit and two blockhouses are located at the gorge. The fort is further protected by a ditch, a covertway and a glacis.
Fort Lupin was never attacked, and it never fired its guns in anger. It was decommissioned in the late 19th century, and was subsequently abandoned and vandalized.
The fort was sold to a private owner in 1964. The owners have restored the fort, and today it is in good condition. It is not open to the public on a regular basis.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.