Île aux Marins

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About Île aux Marins

Île aux Marins is a small island about 1.5 km long that shelters the harbor of Saint-Pierre on the east. Until 1931 it was called Île-aux-Chiens and until 1945 it was an independent commune, later incorporated into Saint-Pierre. It once had nearly 700 inhabitants, who fished cod from April to October and dried the fish on the graves, pebble-covered areas by the sea. With the decline of fishing, families moved to Saint-Pierre and the school closed in 1963.

The remaining buildings form an open-air museum. The church Notre-Dame-des-Marins, built between 1872 and 1874, preserves the original furnishings, including a large black-covered catafalque used in funerals. The old school, together with Maison Jézéquel and Maison Grise, houses the Archipélitude museum, with objects and photos of the fishermen’s lives. There is also the old town hall, the washhouse, the cemetery facing the sea and the cast-iron lighthouse painted red, from 1874, on the southwest point.

On the north coast is the bow of the Transpacific, a German cargo ship that ran aground on the island’s reefs on May 18, 1971, with no casualties. Residents recovered part of the cargo with their doris, the traditional fishing boats.

The guided visit departs from the harbor of Saint-Pierre with a guide from the L'Arche museum, lasts about two hours and ends at Archipélitude; in season there is also a regular boat for those who want to tour the island independently. Some houses are used by Saint-Pierre families in the warm months.