EMBARCADÈRE DE MINDIN

Long before the construction of the Saint-Nazaire Bridge in 1975, the Loire was crossed by water. While the crossing was uncertain and dangerous in earlier centuries, it became regular from 1876 onwards.

A pier was built in 1876 (it had been in demand since 1866), and a regular ferry service was introduced.

As the town grew and developed as a seaside resort, more and more people took the ferry. Many people also took it to work on the other side of the river.

In 1959, 3 new amphidrome ferries were built:
The Saint-Brevin, the Saint-Gildas and the Duchesse Anne.

In 1960, 400,000 pedestrians, 1,250,000 4-wheelers and 260,000 2-wheelers used the ferry, a sign of its success.

The crossing took around 30 minutes, and the ferries could carry 96 vehicles per hour.

However, the boats were expensive to maintain, and the crossing was subject to the vagaries of the weather, so the département was planning to build a bridge, the completion of which would mark the end of the ferry.