The secrets of Planier Island and its iconic lighthouse

Planier Island (l'Île de Planier) is located about 15 km from the old port, so it is the furthest from the city among the Marseille islands. It is a fairly small rocky island, 3 kilometers wide, windswept and beaten by waves, surrounded by reefs, which are covered with very little water. Due to these prominent reefs, many ships have been wrecked. The remains of the shipwrecks, especially two of them, plus the remains of a German fighter plane, are a center of attraction for marine archaeologists and divers. They come to unravel the mysteries of the remains and enjoy the sight of the diverse creatures that settled in their compartments and swim in their cells. In addition to the fish's love of wrecks, the area is prohibited for fishing and the underwater life there flourishes, therefore, sevenfold. The surroundings of the island have therefore become a unique and sought-after diving site.

And if the seabed around the island is littered with shipwrecks, which delight divers, its lighthouse, whose familiar silhouette stands out against the horizon, has become a symbol of journey and freedom. The freedom to enter Marseille, the freedom to sail far from it. Most of all, indeed, the island is identified with its famous lighthouse, dear to the hearts of the inhabitants of Marseille. A lighthouse that has been showing seafarers their way for 700 years. The lighthouse of Flanier has a long and fascinating history, full of ups and downs, which dates back to the Middle Ages. Its various incarnations reflect, as we will see later, the development of science. Its current structure today, which is its fifth version, gives it the title of the highest lighthouse in the Mediterranean, 71 meters above the sea.

The lighthouse, rising vertically on the island, stands out against the background of its flat topography that gave it its name. The island's name, Plania, is derived from the Greek word planasia and indicates its smooth nature: translated into Hebrew, Plania means "the flat island" or "the flat island". This etymology is the same as the etymology of the name of the Italian island of Pianusa (Pianosa island), which was also originally an ancient Greek colony, just like Marseille. The island of Pianosa lies off the coast of Tuscany and shares the same topographical features with the island of Flagnier, including the presence of a lighthouse.

The lighthouse of the Isle of Flaine, the buildings surrounding it and the entire island, were classified as a historical site in 2002. It is the only lighthouse in the Mediterranean to have been granted this protection. Owned by the state and located within the Calanques National Park, the lighthouse became fully automated in 1986. Since 1991, the lighthouse has been powered by solar energy: no less than 74 photovoltaic panels, controlled by smart chargers, feed two 24-volt batteries with a capacity of 2600 amperes. Every 5 seconds, the lighthouse emits a white flash, visible for up to 42 km, to guide merchant and pleasure ships and shout to them in all languages: Get away from me!!!. This is the first lighthouse you see when you arrive in Marseille.

The Plénier lighthouse guides ships coming from the south or west to find safe passage to the city's various ports. Its role as a lookout and guardian has earned it a special place in the hearts of sailors and Marseille residents. Visible day and night, the lighthouse is an integral part of the Marseille landscape, as recognizable as its iconic basilica, with its unique, elegant profile, a kind of Greek Doric column with a square plate resting on its round head and carrying the lantern. In bright sunlight you may have to squint to see it from the southwest of the city, but as darkness falls you will easily notice its white light, which flashes frequently.

The Flanier Lighthouse is known as the “Statue of Liberty” of Marseille. The immigrants who arrived in Marseille by sea noticed the lighthouse and felt it, indeed, as a “Statue of Liberty”, when on one side they saw the Fort Saint-Nicolas and on the other the Fort Saint-Jean. The freedom to enter the city for the first time or to return to it, the freedom to look at the lighthouse and dream of journeys beyond it, the freedom of sailors and travelers to sail to distant lands, the freedom of divers to discover the magnificent world of silence beneath its surface.

And this is the history of the lighthouse.

In 1319, Robert d'Anjou, King of Naples and Count of Provence and Salerno, signed a royal decree to build a 12-meter-high lighthouse off the coast of Marseille. According to this decree, every shipowner anchoring near the island of Flanier was required to place in it one hundred dressed stones taken from the mainland. The island's location, as an outpost at the head of many small islands located in the vicinity of ancient Phoenicia, allowed it to detect ships heading towards the coast from afar. Even then, it was intended to be a protector, entrusted with the security of Marseille through its bronze cannons and the city garrison stationed there, under the command of a captain.

Construction began in 1320 and the lighthouse, the fourth in the area, became operational six years later. The lighthouse at this time was called a “fire tower” (tour à feu). These were bonfires that were lit at the top of the towers to show sailors their way. On the platform at the top of the tower built on the island of Flanier, pine branches, resin wood, peat and sometimes fish oil or olive oil were burned in the open air.

This first “fire tower”, built on the island of Flanier, had two purposes: one was to warn ships of the presence of dangerous reefs and strong waves. The other was to survey the horizon to thwart the arrival of pirates or ships of the Saracens, the Muslim invaders. In the event of enemy detection, a large distress fire would be lit that other towers would see and also light. A chain of these fires would inform the people of Marseilles that they should be ready to defend the city.

And so the tower continued to function for four hundred years until 1774. In that year it was raised by 23 meters. The wood fire was replaced by a lantern with a reflector lamp consisting of 14 oil lamps, from the house of the historical entrepreneur Pierre Torti-Sangren (Pierre Tourtille-SangrainIn 1829, a new lighthouse was built, 36 meters high, equipped with the “Fresnel lens” (la lentille de Fresnel), invented in 1822 by the brilliant engineer Augustin Fresnel (Augustin Fresnel). It is a light with long white flashes every 30 seconds. In 1881 a new cylindrical stone tower was built, 59 meters high. This time it is an electric light with 3 white flashes, separated by a red flash. In August 1944 it was destroyed by the Germans. Its Fresnel lens was saved because a German engineer officer, aware of its immense value, took care to store it in a barn in the town of Cucuron in the Luberon region.

Watch the following video of the Fresnel lens system starting to rotate on its four panels. The video was produced during a technician inspection on December 6, 2017:

In 1945, a temporary light was installed on a pole. In 1947, construction began on the new lighthouse and its surrounding buildings, funded by the Marshall Plan. The entire complex was designed in an innovative architectural style, the brainchild of architects and designers André Arbus and André Crillon, who owned a joint office, Arbus & Crillon.

The complex consists of two parts: the lighthouse on the east of the island and the accompanying buildings next to it. These are characterized by their meticulous height and are arranged in two wings, to the north are the residences of the keepers and their families in a spacious two-story building and to the west are the technical facilities – the workshops, the engine room, the warehouses, all within a large courtyard. Both the lighthouse and the annexes are faced with dressed stone at a time when the fashion demanded concrete construction.

The lighthouse is a conical tower, slightly truncated, with a square platform, which carries the lantern. It is accessed via a beautiful, Art Deco spiral staircase. The choice of materials, the architecture, both eclectic and innovative, and the presentation of the lighthouse and its annexes as a carefully planned square in the middle of the sea, all create a spectacular monumental complex. This commitment of the architects, which contradicts the dominant modernism of the period, demonstrates a desire to align with the spirit of the great projects of Marseille, whether they were realized or not, from the squares of Pierre Fouget (Pierre Puget) to the Major Cathedral via the Friul Islands.

The tower was inaugurated in August 1959. Its meticulous architecture evokes feelings of respect and admiration in front of this sublime giant in the heart of the sea.

The lighthouse and the island today

The guards left the island in 1992, the automation of the tower has increased their presence; the diving center that was established there, immediately after the guards left, closed in 2004. The buildings have deteriorated. What a shame! This is a potential that can and should be exploited, and several projects have been proposed, such as an artists' residence, a pedagogical center, a divers' hostel, and a scientific station, but none of them have progressed beyond the idea stage. Let's hope that in the near future a budget will be allocated to strengthen the buildings and the projects will be implemented. The island is deserted and it is forbidden to go on it because of the risk of collapse of the buildings, which have been neglected for years.

Access to the island, as mentioned, is prohibited, but you can approach it by ship, admire its beauty, and dive around it. Several cruises depart from Marseille To discover the islands, the anchorage and the coves. You can also rent a private boat to sail to the lighthouse. Fishing, however, is prohibited.

In the following fascinating video, we will tour the island with the person in charge. We will see the wings, the former building housing the guards and their families, the technical buildings next to it that served as food and drink storage and as technical rooms. A bread oven and raising chickens and rabbits provided a certain autonomy for the families. Initially, four guards and their families lived there, and later two and their families. A private tutor for the children also lived on the island.

We will see the impressive lighthouse from Mitamar El Al. Everything is automatic, everything is electronic. Together with the person in charge, we will climb the magnificent 362 steps, decorated with a perforated Art Deco railing, and we will reach the lighthouse terrace, from which a spectacular view can be seen. The island is deserted, as mentioned, abandoned, but not far from it, the life of the divers' dance is in full swing around it.

Tropical remains as diving sites

Circumstances of the drowning

Ships that ignored the lighthouse's flashing lights paid dearly. Some twenty shipwrecks, from the earliest Greek vessels to the Moroccan cargo ship "Chaouen," lie submerged in the water. And even the remains of a German Air Force Messerschmitt Bf 109.

On March 7, 1944, Captain Hans Fahrenberger took off from the air force base in Avignon, then under German control, on a mission he had been reluctantly called to. Hans was a flight instructor, an airplane enthusiast, an avid glider pilot, it was his passion. He loved life, did not support Nazism, and was not a fighter by nature. Young Hans was caught in the vortex of human madness.

Hans was, as mentioned, a flight instructor in Avignon. That day, what could he do, he received an order: American B-17 bombers were flying over the coastline, towards Marseille, accompanied by P-38 Lightning fighter planes. A Luftwaffe (German Air Force) fighter squadron took off from Avignon to intercept the convoy.

Young Captain Hans Fernberger was flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-61, ready for action. After the German pilots spotted the American formation, they attacked them, exploiting the element of surprise caused by their approach against the light. During the dogfight that ensued, Fernberger's Messerschmitt was hit by a bullet in the engine. It went out of action, emitting thick smoke that filled the cockpit. Hans was above the clouds, isolated. The plane plunged toward the sea, accompanied by a trail of smoke. The Americans had no doubt that the German's fate was sealed.

Hans dived without knowing his location. And suddenly an island was in front of him. Hans recognized Flanier, south of Marseille. Hans freed himself from the harness, and the plane landed flat, slightly with the nose up, but the sea was rough and water immediately flooded the cockpit. Hans managed to escape it, before being swallowed by the sea, thanks to the parachute that pushed him upwards, like a lifebuoy. With the rest of his strength, he swam to the deserted island. Exhausted, completely alone, he took off his wet clothes to dry off. The lighthouse was destroyed, at the instigation of the Germans, and Hans read the signs “Minefield.”

And suddenly a plane. Hans flew towards him with his arms. He didn't know it was a colleague who was looking for him. The colleague returned to the base and announced, without recognizing Hans, that a naked man was waving his hands wildly on the ruined and abandoned island to which the Germans had forbidden entry. A patrol ship arrived on the island in the afternoon and rescued Hans.

Hans survived the war and died in 2009, aged 90, in Munich, not before witnessing the reconciliation between Germany and France. What remains of his time in Provence are the submerged remains of his Messerschmitt, discovered by divers in 1970. Thousands of them have already explored them.

A few meters from the wrecked plane, there is another attraction, the continuation of the tour, the remains of the Moroccan cargo ship “Chaouen” that sank 126 years after the Messerschmitt. You can also combine a tour of a third shipwreck, located not far away, the “Dalton”, which sank 42 years before the “Chaouen”.

The “Chaouen” belonged to the Moroccan National Company and operated on the Marseille-Casablanca citrus fruit route. On February 21, 1970, it carried 640 tons of oranges from Casablanca to Marseille. The captain had already notified the port of his ship’s arrival when, at around 19:40 p.m., it came upon one of the two most famous reefs off the coast of the island, the one known as “The Ring Stone” (La Pierre à la Bague), a wide rock, seen from above in the shape of a ring, in which the strong waves had carved channels, caves, ravines and passages.

The weather was favorable and the sea was calm. The ship probably made its way using navigational instruments without supervision, otherwise it is difficult to explain how it landed on the famous reef, the “Ring Stone,” near the lighthouse. Some, however, offer an economic explanation: since the price of oranges had fallen during the voyage, the captain may have preferred to sink his ship and claim compensation from the insurance for the ship and its cargo. Eyewitnesses told of a “sea of ​​oranges” and hundreds of citrus fruits floating in the city’s small harbors. What was the real reason the ship got stuck on the reef? We will probably never know. The captain and the ship took their secret to the grave.

After several rescue attempts, the captain was forced to abandon the ship, which was increasingly broken and flooded. It sank the following afternoon. Its bow remained above water for about 15 years, but successive storms caused it to gradually sink.

The cargo ship, le Dalton, ran aground in 1928. On February 12, it sailed from Lavrio, Greece, bound for Marseille, carrying a cargo of lead bullion. On February 19, at around 2:10 a.m., it ran aground on rocks near the lighthouse and sank. Broken in two, the ship sank like a stone at the foot of the mooring pier of the island of Plenipotentiary, about twenty meters from the shore, just 45 minutes after impact. The entire Greek crew was rescued, safe and sound, by the lighthouse keepers.

There was heavy fog on the day the ship sank. The court found, however, that the captain was responsible for the sinking. He did not change course as he approached the lighthouse. The second officer was also found guilty of failing to warn the captain of the danger.

Diving the three sunken remains

There is great curiosity to discover what is hidden in the inner compartments of sunken vessels, and in this case, the plane (another small plane remains were found at the site, but the article focuses on the three most famous dive sites, which, by the way, can be visited in one go). Penetrating the dark compartments holds dangers that do not exist in open-sea diving and increases the pleasure of daring adventurers who are interested in strong thrills. Loss of visibility, losing their way, encountering fragments and sharp parts, countless risks.

The discovery of the remains of a sunken ship is sometimes experienced by divers as a feeling of being inside a scary scenario. Fans of horror and ghost movies will be satisfied. The three sites in question near the island of Plein Air, however, receive thousands of divers and are considered safe. These impressive structures attract an exceptionally high density of marine life and allow for a deep immersion in history, literally.

The “Shaoan”, lying on its left side, facing the island of Flanier, has been exceptionally well preserved. The dive is carried out along the deck, at a depth of 4-5 meters. You can see the two magnificent anchors, the open stern, the propeller and the rudder.

The Messerschmitt, on the other hand, lies upside down on a sandy bottom. The engine is visible but in poor condition. The plane is badly damaged but the 30mm cannon in the propeller plate is still visible. Both wings, in fairly good condition, are still attached to the fuselage. The tail has been severed. The cockpit is inaccessible.

As for the Dalton, the shipwreck’s shallow depth, between 15 and 35 meters, makes it accessible to all levels of divers. In fact, it is one of the most visited shipwrecks in the harbor, despite being quite damaged. It is easy to get down to the aft hold, without missing the propeller and rudder (at a depth of over 30 meters).

In the following video, we will follow the dive to the three sites, which can be visited at once. A triple tour, which creates a unique experience, combining emotion, exploration and viewing spectacular water creatures:

The lighthouse in the writers' pen

The Flagnier Lighthouse, the first point of contact upon entering Marseille and the last on leaving it, holds a special place not only in the hearts of sailors and Marseille residents but also in the hearts of writers. Alexandre Dumas mentions it in his travelogues, but especially in the novel “The Count of Monte Cristo,” where Edmond Dantes sees it “shining like a star.” Blaise Senderer, in his autobiographical novel, “The Man Struck by Lightning,” feels it as a cosmic connection: “And before me, the double sphere of sky and sea, with the Flagnier Lighthouse at its center.” Joseph Conrad expresses a similar experience: “I watched the sails of the ships and the smoke of the steamers rising into the distance, beyond the tall, thin Flagnier Lighthouse, which, like a vertical white stripe, doubled the horizon, swept by the wind.”

Emile Zola, in his book “Naïs Micoulin,” describes it from a different perspective:

Marseille, at the end of the bay, was hidden in the fog. On the left, only the revolving lighthouse of Flanier returned every minute, piercing the darkness with a yellow beam that was suddenly extinguished. Nothing was sweeter or more delicate than this light, constantly lost on the horizon, and constantly found again.

Alphonse Doda, in the novel “Sappho,” remains in the same tone of feelings:

When only the rustle of a paddle in the water, only the barking of a distant ship's dog break the silence, on the open sea, throughout the open sea, the Plénier lighthouse casts in its orbits a long red or white flame, tearing through the darkness, revealing with a flash of lightning the silhouettes of islands, forts and rocks. Its gaze of light, guiding thousands of lives on the horizon, is always the journey, inviting it and making signs to it, calling it with the voice of the wind, the waves of the open sea and the hoarse rustle of a steamship still snoring and panting somewhere at anchor.

And the most inviting quote is that of Albert Londer in the reportage “Marseille, Gateway to the South”:

This is a lighthouse two miles from the coast. Every evening you see it sailing its light over the open sea as well as over the shore. This lighthouse is famous all over the world and is called the Flanier. Every time you look at it, remember that at that moment it is spoken of above all the seas and under all the constellations. And when it is not spoken of, it is thought of. If the Flanier brings you home, it also supervises the departure. You should invest in a trip to Marseille, young people of France, go see the lighthouse that will show you a great road that you did not think existed at all and perhaps then you will understand.

And finally, a link to a filmed visit to the island

To remain in a state of admiration for the beauty of the site, you are invited toVisit by the team in charge of the island, who came to maintain and review its condition. If you don't understand French, it doesn't matter: the main thing in the section is to see the spectacular pictures of arriving at the island, the island and the lighthouse.

For sailing, organized or private, for the Kalnaks, see This official website

For certified diving centers, see This official website