Residence of fishers, the traditional architecture of this cabanon is the result of simplicity and ingenuity. These cabanons were first built for security of seamen and became at the end of the XIXth Century equipment parking spaces. From the very beginning of the XXth Century, these chalets are used for totally different purposes and extend to become vacation resorts.
This residence has small white washed walls, a big roof with a rafter, which extremity is sometimes topped by a bull horn or a transverse piece of wood, in order to form a cross. This rafter on the opposite side of the cabin apse protects against the lightning and is useful for knotting the rope which makes it fast on the ground in very windy days.
In olden days people used to built cabins walls with materials from the marsh: clay and reeds. Today, different materials are used… but people are still in love with this type of architecture for pleasure of traditional living or simply for its climate change adaptation. 190 cabanons attest to the history of many people. They also embody quality of life and attachment of the Port-Saint-Louisiens to nature.
The theme of the 2011 local heritage days will be “Cabins and Cabanons”.