We have driven in the area and would like to have an imprint in my blog on the wonderful towns of my belle France, There is so much to see , doing my best, and glad found me these older paper pictures which now transposing in my blog for you and me, The pictures are old ,so the quality may not be as good ,but the memories are forever, Therefore, here is my take on this is Rochefort !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The City of Rochefort ,aka Rochefort-sur-Mer is located in the dept of Charente-Maritime, no 17 in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of my belle France,It is 34 km from La Rochelle, 65 km from Niort, 150 km from Poitiers, 162 km from Bordeaux, 480 km from Paris, 460 km from Versailles, and 313 km from my current house,Located on the road connecting the two main cities of the department: La Rochelle and Saintes, the city is served by the Saintes-Rochefort highway which extends north of the agglomeration by the D 137 in the direction of La Rochelle, and Bordeaux. It is also connected to Saint-Agnant via the Pont-Viaduc sur la Charente. An urban ring road around the city to ensure the continuity of the road network between La Rochelle and Saint-Agnant, and beyond, towards Marennes, the Île d’Oléron and Royan.
Many things to see here and I always passing by, got in once to see about a wonderful place (read above) and glad to found the pictures, The other things to see here, me think are : The city hall was built around 1770 for the naval officer Claude-Marguerite Renart de Fuchsamberg, count of Amblimont. The building was acquired in 1804 in order to house the city hall. Around 1880, a clock was placed in an oculus surrounded by oak leaves The facade located in front of Place Colbert. The Post Office Hôtel was designed in 1911. It always welcomes the public for the post office services. The former chapel of the Capuchins, the Saint-Louis Church houses the tomb of the Intendant Bégon, as well as a romantic Merklin organ, To replace the Notre-Dame church called “The old parish”, the current Notre-Dame Church was erected from 1858 to 1860 on a Faubourg plot located between the Grande Rue (now rue Gambetta) and the rue de La Barrière ( now rue Voltaire). It was devoted on July 1, 1861. During the same month of July 1861, the bells of the “old parish” were transported there. The Rochefort train station in the Art Deco style, was built in 1913 this station has a certain attraction, with its clock, its ceramics on the front, its marquise above the entrance, its hall and its lamps. It also kept a small glass roof. The Rochefort marina is the first river port in Charente-Maritime. It is located on the right bank of the Charente at around 15 nautical miles from Fort Boyard or the Île d’ Aix, in the heart of the city. The Rochefort market is one of the most important in the region. It takes place every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings all year round. It is broken down into two markets: the outdoor market, located on avenue Charles-de-Gaulle (with avenue La Fayette on Saturday), extends over 300 m long. The covered market, located in the Halles (ground floor of the Palais des Congrès, The former Hôtel de Cheusses (Naval Museum) since January 19, 1932, the Royal Cordery and the annex buildings (water tower, fountain, guardhouse) Since October 10, 1967, the Royal Corderie is located on the right bank of the Charente, on the edge of the river.
The Maison du Roy was built between the arsenal and the city on the ruins of the old feudal castle was the house of the navy intendant and, from 1781, that of the commander of the Navy. Subseated the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte twice: the first time in August 1808 for the visit of Fort Boyard under construction and to draw up the plans of Fort Lédot and the second, less glorious, on July 3, 1815, during his departure on the Île d’Aix before its exile on the island Sainte-Hélène, The Tour des Signals dates from 1728. It is the old bell tower of the Saint-Charles chapel, which had been rebuilt and erected in the parish Church Saint-Louis by Louis XIV. Place Colbert, the most famous in Rochefort, it is the city’s nerve center. The City has nearly fifty mansions are identified in Rochefort. In 1690, the Rochefort ramparts were made up of three bastions and eight triangular resentments backed by Charente. The ramparts were kept on two fairly large portions despite the order of demolition in 1923. One portion is located near the Begon door on the edge of the D911 road, and the other smaller at the roundabout of the avenue of November 11 . Since 1997, an association has been planned to rebuild the L’Hermione frigate identically on board which La Fayette left in 1780 to join the American patriots during the United States War of Independence. The launching of the boat was made on Friday July 6, 2012. The Naval Aeronautics Museum, located on the site of the old naval aeronautical base in Rochefort-Soubise base near the Gendarmerie school, is a museum that has 35 aircraft, seaplanes, gliders, helicopters but also motor shales and 1,500 models.
A bit of history tell us the City of Rochefort is established in a meander of Charente, entirely on the right bank of the river, which places it in the old province of Aunis. It is a “new city” created in 1666 to establish a construction site for a maritime and military arsenal which will become the principal of the kingdom of France. From this prestigious past, Rochefort inherits an urban heritage which earned it to be classified as a city of art and history.
During the wars of religion of the 16C early 17C, Rochefort was alternately in the hands of Catholics or Protestants. In November 1594, King Henri IV granted Rochefort a weekly market and three annual fairs on September 11, 1599 he sold the land of Rochefort as a domain committed ,the original owners preserved it until May 5, 1666, when the crown bought their lordship to create a port and an arsenal of war instead of that of Brouage which has enabled itself. Around 1660, the French navy, created by Richelieu is in poor condition, it only has a few ships capable of taking the sea. The Arsenal is therefore built, welcoming workshops and shops. In 1666, on the orders of Louis XIV, the remains of Rochefort fortifications were demolished, while keeping the Hôtel de Cheusses which remained the seat of the lordship, in order to create a military arsenal to house the Ponant fleet. The Royal Cordery building is built. In the 18C, the French monarchy organized the refueling of the Atlantic colonies (Antilles, Guyana, Canada, African counters) and the Indian Ocean (Mauritius and Reunion) from Rochefort, the first company on duty -Marins was created by Mazarin in 1655, reformed by Colbert in 1670, dissolved in 1671, reconstituted in 1672, partly in Rochefort. The officers of the French Navy having remained mainly royalist, the terror is particularly severe: the representatives on boats Lequinio and Laiglot make 52 defendants guillotine (including 19 naval officers) Rochefort becomes the starting point for a deportation of refractory priests who took place in 1794 and 1795. Isolated on shells of ships on anchor called Pontoons de Rochefort, 829 priests were abandoned for several weeks without care and without food, only 274 survived, On August 6, 1798, a small squadron formed Franchise, Medea and Concorde frigates succeeded in leaving Rochefort and thwarting British surveillance to arrive on August 22, 1798, with around 1,000 French soldiers commanded by General Humbert, in northwest Ireland, Kilcummin in the County of Mayo where the Ireland expedition (1798) began, In the 18C, Rochefort was the departure place of 27 slave trade expeditions, which would represent 0.8% of the total number of French trafficking expeditions In1926, the closure of the arsenal and in 1927 of the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture led to a rapid decline in the city.
The City of Rocheport on its heritage : https://www.ville-rochefort.fr/decouvrir-rochefort
The Rocheport Océan tourist office on its heritage : https://www.rochefort-ocean.com/en/explore/rochefort-port-of-the-frigate-hermione
The Charentes-Maritime dept 17 tourist office on Rochefort : https://www.atlantic-cognac.com/destination/what-to-do-in-rochefort/
There you go folks, a dandy area to explore and enjoy with the family, Memorable moments in my belle France, driving all over in my road warrior trails brings out sublime awesome spots with nice memorable family visits of yesteryear always remember and always looking forward to be back, eventually. Again hope you enjoy the post on this is Rochefort as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 