BATTERIE DES 500

The Battery of 500 is a military structure built between 1885 and 1886 as part of the reinforcement of the defenses of Port-Vendres after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
At that time, Port-Vendres was a strategic port for links with Algeria and benefited from the development of the railway network directly linking the embarkation quays.
To protect the port and monitor the Spanish border, several fortifications were built on the heights overlooking the coast. The Battery of 500 was part of this defensive system, which also included Fort Béar, Taillefer, La Galline, and several barracks intended to house artillery troops.
Its location allowed control of maritime and land approaches to the sector.