The Tour Saint-Nicolas stands on the south bank of the port, opposite the Tour de la Chaîne. It was built on a pentagonal plane with engaged circular towers at three angles, a rectangular turret and a high square tower used as a keep.
The Tour Saint-Nicolas is the biggest one in La Rochelle and its role was to protect the port from dangers coming from the ocean. It also served as a mooring post for the heavy chain which linked it in the evening to its tower mate, the Tour de la Chaîne.
In 1372, the English sovereignty came to an end and the city threw open its doors to Charles V. Then, La Rochelle became a French royal port. In gratitude, the King granted important privileges to the city : hereditary ennoblement of aldermen and the mayor, fortifications, which made the city independent.
Those privileges found expression in the architecture. The Tour Saint-Nicolas for instance is a symbol for the nobility and sovereignty of the city. As a matter of fact, the urban keep can be compared with a princely keep. The very complex communication system inside the tower can be compared with the royal architecture of the tower of Vincennes. Therefore, the Tour Saint-Nicolas embodies the great power of La Rochelle, more than its defense capacities alone do. It was marked by conflicts of history, but was restored several times at the end of the 17th and the 19th centuries. The restoration of the inside started at the beginning of the 20th century.
