Museum/Gallery

On the southwest coast of Mauritius, next to a tropical beach, stands a mighty fortress - the Martello Tower. Her cannon looks out over the gentle turquoise lagoon, a sight not to be missed. In total, five such towers were built in Mauritius along the west coast in strategic locations near river mouths. Back in 1794, during a fierce battle in the Gulf of Mortella in Corsica, the British first saw such a tower built by the French. They were so impressed that they immediately decided to build similar structures to protect their empire. Remains of towers can still be seen in the former colonies and along the coasts of England. In Mauritius, the towers were built in the early 19th century, when it was captured by the British. But it turned out that the towers had never seen combat, and over time they began to collapse. In 1992, Friends of the Environment began restoration of the tower in La Preneuze and in 2000 a museum was opened in the restored tower. Installations, artifacts, and accurate reproductions of the living conditions of soldiers characteristic of that period introduce visitors to the history of Mauritius