An Ideal Geographic Location
The Roadstead of Brest, well-protected by a narrow "goulet" but sufficiently large to allow ships to turn or move, forms a natural harbour. Its dimensions make it a small inland sea, capable of receiving the largest fleets. It is so vast that it offers a protected haven for ships.
This haven is fed by the river Penfeld from the north, running off the plateaus of Léon. Its lower course is winding, with high raised banks that break strong winds. Even heavy-tonnage vessels can berth safely in this vast and substantial area. The cape that divides the roadstead from the bay has four sides, three of which are defended by nature and with a fourth side that needs fortification but which is still easily defensible. This unique site gives the castle major strategic significance
The castle was thus built on a rocky outcrop carved out which the river has cut into the cliff at its mouth in the estuary. Since the place overlooks and dominates the sea, it controls access to the Penfeld and the lower reaches of the Elorn towards Landerneau, all whilst overlooking a major part of the roadstead and its entrance : the Goulet de Brest.
| “ | It is the only natural port the king has on the ocean sea. It is so advantageously disposed in all ways that if its location and form had been chosen by his Majesty himself it could not have been wished otherwise. | ” |
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“We have reason to be grateful for celestial phenomena, for they chiefly answer to the ideal in man.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)