Rezé (; , Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

department in the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

region of western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is a southern suburb of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. It was also called ''Ratiate'' in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and ''Rezay'' in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

History

Rezé dates back to the Roman era, when it was known as ''Portus Ratiatus'' (port of Rezé) and ''Ratiatum Pictonum Portus'' ( Picton port of Rezé). Being populated by the Ambilatres tribe, whose location on the south bank of the lower Loire is not established with certainty, between

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

and Celtica

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

. Rezé was an important port on the south shore of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, established opposite the port of

Namnetes The Namnetes were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the modern city of Nantes during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Namnitō͂n'' (Ναμνιτῶν) by Polybius (2nd c. BC) and Strabo (early 1st c. AD), ''Namnetes' ...

, located north of the Loire,

- Contigwic of its Gaulish name - and it is experiencing rapid development, which suggests a strong power of attraction, a place for meetings and trade between the various Celtic tribes of the region ( Veneti,

, Ambilatres, Andecavis and of course

Pictones The Pictones were a Gallic tribe dwelling south of the Loire river, in the modern departments of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Pictonibus'' and ''Pictones'' by Julius Caes ...

). In 510 a Latin Catholic Diocese of Rezé was established on territory split off from the

Diocese of Poitiers The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Poitiers (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Pictaviensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse Metropolitain de Poitiers'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of P ...

. It was suppressed 851, its territory being reassigned to the nearby then

Diocese of Nantes The Diocese of Nantes (; ; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Nantes, France. The diocese consists of the department of Loire-Atlantique. It has existed since the 4th century. It is now suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, ...

. No incumbents or other details available. It has ruins of Gallo-Roman settlement and a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of Saint Lucien. In feudal times, it was the capital of

Pays de Retz The Pays de Retz (; ; ) is a historical subregion of France that currently forms part of the Loire-Atlantique department, but once formed part of the Duchy of Brittany. The area lies between the southern shore of the Loire estuary and the '' Mara ...

which means “Land of Rezé” within the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...

, after the invasion of the Bretons.

Geography

The commune is surrounded by the communes of

Vertou Vertou (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise, and was a historical town of Brittany. Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fifth-largest ...

, Les Sorinières, Pont-Saint-Martin and

Bouguenais Bouguenais (; Gallo: ''Bógonaè'' or ''Boug·naï'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France near Nantes. Bouguenais is home to the Nantes Atlantique Airport. Population Economy Régional, a regional airline, ...

. It is limited north by the

, east by the

Sèvre Nantaise The Sèvre Nantaise () is a river in the Pays de la Loire regions in western France. It is a left-bank tributary of the Loire. Its total length is . Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres department, near Secondigny. It flows from south to north thr ...

and the Ilette, west by the Jaguère and south by the

boulevard périphérique The Boulevard Périphérique (), often called the Périph, is a limited-access dual-carriageway ring road in Paris, France. With a few exceptions (see '' Structure and Layout''), it is situated along Paris's administrative limit. The spee ...

of Nantes.

Rezé-Pont-Rousseau station Rezé-Pont-Rousseau is a railway station in Rezé, Pays de la Loire, France. The station is located on the Nantes–La Roche-sur-Yon railway. The station is served by the following TER Pays de la Loire services operated by the SNCF:

has rail connections to Pornic, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Nantes.

Monuments

Unité d'Habitation of Nantes-Rezé The Unité d'habitation of Nantes-Rezé is an apartment building located in Rezé, a suburb of Nantes, France designed by Le Corbusier. It contains 294 units, and was completed in 1955. It is part of the housing concept of ''Unité d'habitation''. ...

, a monumental apartment building designed by

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

Municipal administration

Since the municipal elections of 1977, the communal council has always been filled in the first round of voting.

Population

International relations

Rezé is twinned with: * Saint-Wendel (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) since 1973 *

Aïn Defla Aïn Defla (, lit. '' oleander spring'') is the capital city of Aïn Defla Province, Algeria. It is also a commune. History In Roman times the city was called Oppidum Novum. The vestiges of the Oppidum Novum are still visible. The current city ...

(

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

) since 1985 *

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

(

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

) since 1990 *

Villa El Salvador Villa El Salvador is an urban, largely residential coastal district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the ...

(

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

) since 1991 *

Ineu Ineu (; ) is a town in Arad County, western Transylvania, Romania. It is situated at a distance of from the county capital, Arad, it occupies a surface at the contact point of Crișul Alb Basin and Crișurilor Plateau. Ineu is the main entranc ...

(

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) since 2003 * Rural Community of Ronkh, Diawar (

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

) since 2003 *

Abu Dis Abu Dis or Abu Deis () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, in the Jerusalem Governorate of the State of Palestine, bordering Jerusalem. Since the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Abu Dis land has been mostly part of " Area B", under Israeli military ...

(

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

) since 2007Reze Websit

References

External links

Official website

* Nouveau Larousse Illustré {{DEFAULTSORT:Reze Communes of Loire-Atlantique