Castel Bertaud

The Bertaud Castle is a building which dates back to the XVI century. It was situed on an inhabited territory since at least the gallo-roman era. The occupation of the Bertaud site is old: the presence of pillar bricks and eleven Roman coins was described in the 19th century and, during work at the torpedo plant in 1970, coins were found, as well as a Gallic amphora and ceramics.

These relics seem to indicate the existence of a villa similar to several others found in this area of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

This castle was built by the lords of Bertaud, of the parish of Gassin, in the 16th century. The lords of Bertaud were colords of Gassin until the sale of this land by the Marquis de Grimaud to Antiboul de Saint-Tropez.

The castle was located near the shore, used for the anchoring of boats, at the bottom of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.

It housed two mills at the tip of Bertaud, a fountain and a chapel.

During the development of tourism in the 19th century, the castle became the property of the Lyon families Peissonneaux and Janmot. Lyonnais artist Louis Janmot stayed here and made "very happy reproductions" of them.

The estate was bought back in the 20th century and the first torpedo factory was created there. It was nationalized in 1937 and remained so until 2001, when DCNS became a private company.

This neo-Gothic-style castle is made up of three floors, including a semi-buried one. It has four round towers, two smaller in the north and west corners and two larger ones, one in the south and the other, detached from the castle in the east.