The Isle of Oléron or Oléron Island (french: île d'Oléron, ; Saintongese: ''ilâte d'Olerun''; oc, illa d'Olairon or ; la, Uliarus insula, ) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

off the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(due west of

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

), on the southern side of the

Pertuis d'Antioche The Pertuis d'Antioche (, ''Passage of Antioch'') is a strait on the Atlantic coast of Western France, between two islands, Île de Ré and Oléron, on the one side, and on the other side the continental coast between the cities of La Rochelle and ...

strait. It is the second largest island of

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

, after

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, with a length of 30 km and a width of 8 km. It has an area of 174 km and more than 21,000 permanent inhabitants.

History

In the 7th and 8th century, the island, along with Ré, formed the ''Vacetae Insulae'' or Vacetian Islands, according to the '' Cosmographia''. Vaceti being another name for the

Vascones The Vascones were a pre-Roman tribe who, on the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century, inhabited a territory that spanned between the upper course of the Ebro river and the southern basin of the western Pyrenees, a region that coincides wi ...

, the reference is evidence to Basque (Gascon) settlement or control of the islands by that date. It was at Oléron in about 1152 to 1160 that

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

introduced the first 'maritime' or 'admiralty' laws in that part of the world: the

Rolls of Oleron Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...

. In 1306,

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

granted the island to his son,

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

, as part of the

Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...

. On 20 March 1586, the island was taken by

Agrippa d'Aubigné Théodore-Agrippa d'Aubigné (, 8 February 155229 April 1630) was a French poet, soldier, propagandist and chronicler. His epic poem ''Les Tragiques'' (1616) is widely regarded as his masterpiece. In a book about his Catholic contemporary Jean ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the island was occupied by German forces and fortified. It was liberated by

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

in an

amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...

code-named Operation Jupiter on 29 April 1945. The French cruiser ''Duquesne'' fired 550 heavy shells at the German artillery batteries. The garrison surrendered on the following day.

Geography and climate

The island has an area of about 174 km². It is a fertile and well cultivated island on the Atlantic coast of France, that is on the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. The climate is generally mild (maritime temperate) with sufficient but not excessive rainfall, but with probably from 3 to 15 days of intense heat in the summer months of July and August, mostly grouped.http://www.ile-oleron-marennes.com/ by La Maison du Tourisme de l'île d'Oléron et du bassin de Marennes 2007

Administration

Administratively, the island belongs to the

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'', in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

''. The island is divided into 8

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

* La Brée-les-Bains *

Le Château-d'Oléron Le Château-d'Oléron (; oc, Lo Chasteu d'Olairon) is a commune located on the Island of Oléron, in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. The town is surrounded by fortifications in the form of a Bastion fort (similar to a ...

* Dolus-d'Oléron *

Le Grand-Village-Plage Le Grand-Village-Plage is a Communes of France, commune in the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is situated on the Île-d'Oléron. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department ...

Saint-Denis-d'Oléron Saint-Denis-d'Oléron (, literally ''Saint-Denis of Oléron'') is a commune on Oléron Island, located in the French department of Charente-Maritime, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Poitou-Charentes). Geography ...

Saint-Georges-d'Oléron Saint-Georges-d'Oléron (, literally ''Saint-Georges of Oléron'') is a commune on Oléron Island in the Charente-Maritime department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. Population See also * Boyardville * Fort Boyard *Co ...

(includes

Boyardville Boyardville () is a district in the city of Saint-Georges-d'Oléron on the eastern part of Oléron Island (''Île d'Oléron'') in Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The community has a small beach resort, fishing port, and marina, and i ...

) * Saint-Pierre d'Oléron * Saint-Trojan-les-Bains The island has about 22,000 inhabitants.

Transportation

Since 1966, the island has been connected to the mainland by a road bridge. With a length of 2,862 m (9,390 ft) between

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s, it was the longest bridge in France at the time of construction. It is now the third one, after the Saint-Nazaire bridge and the Île de Ré bridge. It has been toll-free since 1991. To get to the island, it is possible to arrive at the stations of

Surgères Surgères () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. It is the home of the Surgères 48 Hour Race. History Middle ages The site of Surgères was occupied in Neolithic times, but the earliest recorded history co ...

, Saintes or Rochefort, then take the bus. On the island itself, the easiest way to get around is by car or by bicycle. During the last ten years, a network of 110 kilometers of bicycle paths have been built. These bicycle lanes are mostly car-free.

Tourism

As a large Atlantic island only 3 kilometres off the Aquitanian coast of France, Oléron is a popular tourist destination. Several companies operate boat trips from the towns of Boyardville and Saint-Denis to the nearby Île d'Aix,

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

, and past the Fort Boyard. The port towns are frequently visited by tourists, especially the village of La Cotiniere. This village is the base for a hundred trawlers who sell their fish every day at 05:00 and 16:00h. La Cotiniere was the first fishing port in the department of Charente-Maritime, and the 8th of France. :fr:Île d'Oléron

Notes

Sources

*Collins, Roger. "The ''Vaccaei'', the ''Vaceti'', and the rise of ''Vasconia''." ''Studia Historica VI''. Salamanca, 1988. Reprinted in Roger Collins, ''Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum, 1992. .

External links

*
The official tourist office website for Oléron Island
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleron Tourist attractions in Charente-Maritime Islands of the Bay of Biscay Islands of Charente-Maritime Aunis