Rochefort ( oc, Ròchafòrt), unofficially Rochefort-sur-Mer (; oc, Ròchafòrt de Mar, link=no) for disambiguation, is a city and
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in Southwestern
France, a
port on the
Charente estuary. It is a
subprefecture of 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 ki ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
, located in the
administrative region
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
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 ...
(before 2015:
Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Mariti ...
). In 2018, it had a population of 23,583.
Geography
Rochefort lies on the river
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, a ...
, close to its outflow into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
. It is about 30 km southeast of
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 ...
.
Rochefort station has rail connections to La Rochelle, Nantes and Bordeaux.
History
In December 1665, Rochefort was chosen by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
as a place of "refuge, defence and supply" for the
French Navy. The
Arsenal de Rochefort
The Arsenal de Rochefort was a French naval base and dockyard in the town of Rochefort. It was founded in 1665 and it was closed in 1926.
In December 1665 Rochefort was chosen by Jean-Baptiste Colbert as a place of "refuge, defense and supply" for ...
served as a naval base and
dockyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
until it closed in 1926.
In September 1757, Rochefort was the target of an ambitious
British raid during the
Seven Years' War.
Another infrastructure of early Rochefort from 1766 was its ''bagne'', a high-security
penal colony involving
hard labour. ''Bagnes'' were then common fixtures in military harbors and naval bases, such as
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
or
Brest, because they provided free labor. During the
Jacobin period of the French Revolution (1790–95), over
800 Roman Catholic priests and other clergy who refused to take the anti-
Papal
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
oath of the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy" were put aboard a fleet of prison ships in Rochefort harbour, where most died due to inhumane conditions.
Off Rochefort, from the island of
Île-d'Aix where he had spent several days hoping to flee to
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to Captain
F. L. Maitland aboard
HMS ''Bellerophon'', on 17 July 1815, ending the "
Hundred Days".
Rochefort is a notable example of 17th-century "ville nouvelle" or
new town, which means its design and building resulted from a political decree. The reason for building Rochefort was to a large extent that
royal power could hardly depend on rebellious
Protestant 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 ...
, which
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
had to
besiege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
a few decades earlier. Well into the 20th century, Rochefort remained primarily a
garrison town. The
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
industry, which had long existed due to the town's
spa, gained emphasis in the 1990s.
Population
Sights
Noteworthy buildings of the original naval establishment include:
* a hospital, incorporating a School of Naval Medicine (now a museum)
* the Arsenal with a monumental gateway and the National Navy Museum (Musée National de la Marine)
* the Rope Factory (corderie), at over 370 metres long for centuries the longest manufacturing building in the world
* three dry docks (radoubs) for shipbuilding and repair
* a cannon foundry (not open to the public)
Other sights include:
* a rare
transporter bridge
A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been u ...
(pont transbordeur), consisting of a high level bridge containing a transport mechanism from which a ferry platform is suspended. This bridge, the
Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge
Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge built between 1898 and 1900. It is located in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France and connects the towns of Rochefort and Échillais without hindering the navigatio ...
, built in 1900, is the only remaining one in France and one of only eight still in service world-wide
* the municipal theatre (la Coupe d'Or)
* the railway station
* Saint-Louis church
* Pierre Loti's house (closed indefinitely pending completion of renovation work)
* Museums of Naval Aeronautics, old-time trades (Commerces d'Autrefois), and local archaeology (la Vieille Paroisse)
*
Conservatoire du Bégonia, the world's largest
begonia collection
*
''L'Hermione'', a replica of a 1779 frigate completed in the town in 2014
Notable inhabitants
Rochefort was the birthplace of:
*
Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville (1745–1804), French admiral.
*
Charles Rigault de Genouilly
Admiral Pierre-Louis-Charles Rigault de Genouilly (, 12 April 1807 – 4 May 1873) was a French naval officer. He fought with distinction in the Crimean War and the Second Opium War, but is chiefly remembered today for his command of French and S ...
(1807–1873), French admiral, conqueror of
Vietnam.
*
Pierre Loti (1850–1923), a French naval officer and novelist. His house is now a
museum.
*
Amédée William Merlaud-Ponty (1866-1915), Governor General of
French West Africa
French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkin ...
.
*
Pauline Réage
Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel '' Story of O'' (1954).
Early life
Born i ...
(1907–1998), pseudonym of ''Anne Desclos'', author
*
Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961), philosopher
*
Pierre Salviac, (born 1946), a French journalist, former rugby-match commentator and since then polemicist.
International relations
Rochefort is
twinned with:
*
Torrelavega
Torrelavega ( Cantabrian: ''Torlavega'') is a municipality and important industrial and commercial hub in the single province Autonomous Community of Cantabria, northern Spain.
It is situated roughly 8 kilometres from the Cantabrian Coast and 27 ...
,
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the eas ...
,
Spain
*
Papenburg
Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.
Geog ...
,
Lower Saxony,
Germany
See also
*
Communes of the Charente-Maritime department
The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):[Kaolin deposits of the Charentes Basin
The Kaolin deposits of the Charentes Basin in France are clay deposits formed sedimentarily and then confined by other geological structures.
Overview
The geological unit called Charentes basin is composed of Eocene and Oligocene deposits, laid ...]
*
The Young Girls of Rochefort
''The Young Girls of Rochefort'' (french: Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, lit=The Young Ladies of Rochefort) is a 1967 French musical comedy film written and directed by Jacques Demy. The ensemble cast is headlined by real-life sisters Catherine De ...
film directed by Jacques Demy with Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, and Gene Kelly with music composed by Michel Legrand
References
Movies: "Les Demoiselles De Rochefort" 1967 - Jacques Demy
External links
*
{{Authority control
Populated coastal places in France
Communes of Charente-Maritime
Spa towns in France
Subprefectures in France
Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast
Aunis
Charente-Maritime communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia