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La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France, and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2.9 km bridge, completed in 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche.
HistoryAntiquity
Coin of the Santones, 1st century BC, Cabinet des Médailles. The area of La Rochelle was occupied in antiquity by the Gaul tribe of the Santones, who gave their name to the nearby region of Saintonge and the city of Saintes. The Romans then occupied the area, where they developed salt production along the coast as well as wine production, which was then reexported throughout the Empire. Roman villas were found at Saint-Éloi and at Les Minimes, as well as salt evaporation ponds dating to the same period. FoundationLa Rochelle was founded during the 10th century, and became an important harbour from the 12th century. In 1137, Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine essentially made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to establish itself as a commune. Fifty years later Eleanor of Aquitaine upheld the communal charter promulgated by her father, and for the first time in France, a city mayor was named for La Rochelle, Guillaume de Montmirail. Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. Under the communal charter, the city obtained many privileges, such as the right to mint its own coins, and to operate some businesses free of royal taxes, dispositions which would favour the development of the entrepreuneurial middle-class (bourgeoisie). The main activities of the city were in the areas of maritime commerce and trade, especially with England, the Netherlands and Spain. In 1196, wealthy bourgeois named Alexandre Auffredi sent a fleet of seven ships to Africa to tap the riches of the continent. He went bankrupt and went into poverty as he waited for the return of his ships, but they finally returned seven years later filled with riches. Until the 15th century, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbour on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese. Hundred Years War
The naval battle of La Rochelle. Sieges of La RochelleDuring the Renaissance, La Rochelle adopted Protestant ideas, and from 1568 became a centre for the Huguenots. The city was besieged during the French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle (1572-1573). Under Henry IV the city enjoyed a certain freedom and prosperity until the 1620s, but the city entered in conflict with the central authority of the King Louis XIII, when cannon shots were exchanged on September 10 1627 with Royal troops. This resulted in the Siege of La Rochelle in which Cardinal Richelieu blockaded the city for 14 months, until the city surrendered and lost its mayor and its privileges. The growing persecution of the Huguenots culminated with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. Many Huguenots emigrated, founding such cities as New Rochelle in the vicinity of today's New York in 1689. La Rochelle, and the siege of 1627 form much of the backdrop of the later chapters of Alexandre Dumas, père's classic novel, The Three MusketeersLa Rochelle and the New World
La Rochelle harbour in 1762. Joseph Vernet. Musée de la Marine. The city eventually lost its trade and prominence during the decades spanning the Seven Years' War, the French revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. During that period France lost many of the territorial possessions it had in the new World, and also saw a strong decrease in its sea power in the continuing conflicts with Britain, ultimately diminishing the role of such harbours as La Rochelle. 19th century
The 1863 submarine Plongeur Second World WarDuring the Second World War, Germany established a submarine naval base at La Pallice (the main port of La Rochelle), which became the setting for the movie Das Boot. The U-Boat scenes in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark were also shot in La Rochelle. A German stronghold, La Rochelle was the last French city to be freed at the end of the War. A siege took place between September 12, 1944, and May 7, 1945, in which the stronghold, including the islands of Ré and Oléron, was held by 20,000 German troops under a German vice-admiral Ernst Schirlitz. Following negotiations by the French Navy frigate captain Meyer, and the general German capitulation on May 7th, French troops entered La Rochelle on May 8th. GeographyGeology
La Rochelle seen from Spot Satellite 
The limestone cliffs around La Rochelle display the Jurassic geology of the area. Many of these layers are visible in the white cliffs that border the sea, which encapsulate many small marine fossils. Layers of thick white rocks, formed during period of relatively warm seas, alternate with highly friable layers containing sands and remains of mud, formed during colder periods, and with layers containing various corals, that were formed during warmer, tropical times.[1] The limestone thus formed is traditionally used as the main building material throughout the region. The area of La Pointe du Chay, about 5 kilometers from La Rochelle is a popular cliff area for leisurely archaeological surveys. ClimateAlthough at the same latitude as Montreal in Canada or the Kuril islands in Russia, the area is quite warm throughout the year due to the influence of the Gulf Stream waters, and insolation is remarkably high, on a par with the French Riviera on the Mediterranean Southern coast of France.
Demographics
Today
Panoramic picture of the harbour towers at night. 
The industrial harbour of La Pallice, as seen from the bridge to Ile de Ré. 
Catamarans docked at Les Minimes marina. La Rochelle has a very big aquarium. The Calypso, the ship used by Jacques-Yves Cousteau as a mobile laboratory for oceanography, and which was sunk after a collision in the port of Singapore (1996) is now displayed (sadly rotting) at the Maritime Museum of La Rochelle. One of the biggest music festivals in France, "FrancoFolies," takes place each summer in La Rochelle, where Francophone musicians come together for a week of concerts and celebration. 2004 marked the 20th anniversary of this event. La Rochelle is the setting for the best-selling series of French language textbooks in the UK, titled Tricolore. The central character, Martine Domme, lives with her family at the fictional address of 12, Rue de la République. 
Panorama of La Pallice industrial harbour, seen from Île de Ré. Tourism
Harbour towers at night. Famous people born in La Rochelle
Botanist Aimé Bonpland. 
Admiral Guy-Victor Duperré (1775-1846).
Famous people who lived in La Rochelle
SportNotes
See alsoGallery<gallery> Image:Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot 028.jpg|La Rochelle, entrance to the harbour, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, 1851. Image:Tour de la Grosse Horloge.jpg|La Grosse Horloge Image:Tour de la lanterne.jpg|Tour de la Lanterne Image:Phare du bout du monde (La Rochelle).JPG|Phare du Bout du Monde Image:Gare de La Rochelle.jpg|The train station Image:LesMinimes.JPG|Entrance to Les Minimes harbour Image:060905 Overlooking Old Town and Harbour.JPG|Old town and harbour Image:La Rochelle-Tour St Nicolas.JPG|Tour St. Nicolas (from the Tour de la Chaine) </gallery> External links
af:La Rochelle ar:?? ????? br:Ar Roc'hell bg:?? ????? ca:La Rochelle ceb:La Rochelle cs:La Rochelle da:La Rochelle de:La Rochelle es:La Rochelle eo:La Rochelle eu:Arroxela fr:La Rochelle ga:La Rochelle id:La Rochelle is:La Rochelle it:La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) he:?? ???? la:Rupella lb:La Rochelle nl:La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) ja:?????? no:La Rochelle nn:La Rochelle oc:La Rochèla nds:La Rochelle pl:La Rochelle pt:La Rochelle ro:La Rochelle ru:??-?????? simple:La Rochelle sl:La Rochelle sr:?? ????? fi:La Rochelle sv:La Rochelle vi:La Rochelle vo:La Rochelle zh:???? Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article
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