Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (December 2008) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Rochefort | |
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.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Rochefort  | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Charente-Maritime |
| Arrondissement | Rochefort |
| Intercommunality | Pays Rochefortais |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Bernard Grasset |
| Area 1 | 21.95 km2 (8.47 sq mi) |
| Population (2008) | 25,676 |
| • Density | 1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 17299 /17300 |
| Elevation | 0–29 m (0–95 ft) (avg. 5 m or 16 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Rochefort (French: [ʁɔʃ.fɔʁ]) is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.
History
In December 1665, Rochefort was chosen by Jean-Baptiste Colbert as a place of "refuge, defense and supply" for the French Navy. The Arsenal de Rochefort served as a naval base and dockyard 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 labor. Bagnes were then common fixtures in military harbors and naval bases, such as Toulon 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 oath of the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy" were put aboard a fleet of prison ships in Rochefort harbor, 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, 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, which Cardinal Richelieu had to besiege a few decades earlier. Well into the 20th century, Rochefort remained primarily a garrison town. The tourist industry, which had long existed due to the town's spa, gained emphasis in the 1990s.
Population
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Sights
The town is home to a unique style of bridge (built in 1900), named Pont transbordeur de Rochefort
Other sights include:
- Musée National de la Marine
- Conservatoire du Bégonia, the world's largest begonia collection
- L'Hermione, a replica of a 1779 frigate being built in the town
Personalities
Rochefort was the birthplace of:
- Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville (1745–1804), French admiral.
- Charles Rigault de Genouilly (1807–1873), French admiral, conqueror of Vietnam.
- Pierre Loti (1850–1923), author. His house has been turned into a museum
- Jean-Joseph Sanfourche was a French artist and sculptor.
- Amédée William Merlaud-Ponty (1866-1915), Governor General of French West Africa.
- Pauline Réage, pseudonym of Anne Desclos (1907–1998), author
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961), philosopher
International relations
Rochefort is twinned with:
See also
- Communes of the Charente-Maritime department
- The Young Girls of Rochefort film directed by Jacques Demy with Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, and Gene Kelly with music composed by Michel Legrand
References
External links
