Berre-l'Étang

History

As early as the Gallo-Roman period, a settlement, Cadaroscum, existed at Berre. The chapel of Notre-Dame de Caderot may already have been built in the third century on the site of a pagan temple. In the eleventh century, Berre was a walled settlement whose prosperity derived from salt extraction on the Étang de Berre. A first church dedicated to Saint Caesarius was built in 1041. During the Wars of Religion, Berre was captured on 20 August 1591 by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. The Étang de Berre has a rich aeronautical tradition. Already at the end of the First World War, the site of L’Arc, situated on the shore of the lake, developed into a training centre for seaplane pilots. It was also over the Étang de Berre that, on 28 March 1910, Henri Fabre successfully tested the first seaplane he had constructed himself. After a flight of approximately 600 metres over the water, his aircraft, the Canard, succeeded in alighting on the surface without incident. This constituted a world first. The training centre disappeared in 1926, but the seaplane base remained in operation. From November 1942 onwards, it was occupied by the Germans as part of Operation Anton, the code name for the military occupation of the so-called free zone of Vichy France by Germany and Italy. The operation was launched on 12 November 1942 in response to Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa. During the Second World War, the Vichy government considered the construction, on the territory of Berre-l’Étang, of what was intended to become the largest airfield in southern Europe. This prestigious post-war project was designed to replace the existing airfield, which was considered too small, with a large intercontinental infrastructure covering approximately 900 hectares. Its…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,109
• Grey-leaved Cistus

  Cistus albidus L. · Magnoliopsida
  952
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  899
• giant orchid

  Himantoglossum robertianum (Loisel.) P.Delforge · Liliopsida
  849
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  735
• Tree Medick

  Medicago arborea L. · Magnoliopsida
  671
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  642
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  610

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-12-23
  4 km ENE of Éguilles, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-05-21
  6 km SSW of Carqueiranne, France
• M 2.6 — 2008-04-15
  64 km SSW of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-08-03
  1 km NE of Jonquières-Saint-Vincent, France
• M 2.6 — 2007-05-23
  9 km SSW of Carqueiranne, France
• M 2.5 — 2007-02-25
  3 km SSE of Barjols, France