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21-598: This list is ordered from source to mouth: This Charente-Maritime geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Deux-Sèvres geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in France is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime ( French pronunciation: [ʃaʁɑ̃t maʁitim] ; Poitevin-Saintongeais : Chérente-Marine ; Occitan : Charanta Maritima )

42-643: A factory for the French engineering giant Alstom , where the TGV , the cars for the Paris and other metros are manufactured (see fr:Alstom Aytré ). It is a popular venue for tourism, with its picturesque medieval harbour and city walls. The inhabitants of the département are called Charentais-Maritimes . The President of the Departmental Council has been Dominique Bussereau ( LR ) since 2008. He

63-801: A land area of 6864 km and 651,358 inhabitants as of 2019. The important rivers are the Charente and its tributaries, the Boutonne and the Seugne , along with the Sèvre Niortaise , the Seudre and the Garonne , in its downstream part, which is the estuary of the Gironde . The département includes the islands of Île de Ré , Île d'Aix , Ile d'Oléron and Île Madame . The département forms

84-471: Is a département 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 kilometres (2,650 sq mi). Previously a part of the provinces of Saintonge and Aunis , Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original département created during

105-514: Is an island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort ), on the southern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. It is the second largest island of Metropolitan France , after Corsica , with a length of 30 km (19 mi) and a width of 8 km (5 mi). It has an area of 174 km (67 sq. mi.) and more than 21,000 permanent inhabitants. Oleron has been known since

126-552: Is mild and sunny, with less than 900 mm of precipitation per year and with insolation being remarkably high, in fact, the highest in Western France including southernmost sea resorts such as Biarritz . Average extreme temperatures vary from 39 °C (102 °F) in summer to −5 °C (23 °F) in winter (as of 2022). The economy of Charente-Maritime is based on three major sectors: tourism , maritime industry , and manufacturing . Cognac and pineau are two of

147-501: The French Revolution on 4 March 1790. On 4 September 1941, during World War II, it was renamed as Charente-Maritime. When the département was first organised, the commune of Saintes was designated as the prefecture of the département (Saintes had previously been the capital of Saintonge ). This changed in 1810 when Napoleon passed an imperial decree to move the prefecture to La Rochelle . During World War II ,

168-494: The Île d'Aix , Île de Ré and Île d'Oléron . The department is served by the TGV at Surgères and La Rochelle . It can also be reached by motorway by the A10 (E5, Paris- Bordeaux ) and A837 (E602, Saintes-Rochefort). Ile d%27Ol%C3%A9ron The Isle of Oléron or Oléron Island (French: île d'Oléron , [il dɔleʁɔ̃] ; Saintongese : ilâte d'Olerun ; Latin : Uliaros insula , [uliˈaːros ˈinsula] )

189-537: The 1st century, where Pliny the Elder refers to it in his Natural History as Uliaros ( "in aquitanico sinu Vliaros") . Towards the end of the 3rd century, the Roman emperor Probus extended the privilege of owning vineyards and producing wine to all Gauls, and this led to a culture of winemaking developing on the island. This lasted until the end of the 19th century, when the arrival of phylloxera decimated almost all

210-463: The bus. On the island itself, the easiest way to get around is by car or by bicycle. During the last ten years, a network of 110 kilometers (68 miles) of bicycle paths have been built. These bicycle lanes are mostly car-free. As a large Atlantic island only 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) off the Aquitanian coast of France, Oléron is a popular tourist destination. Several companies operate boat trips from

231-650: The département was invaded by the German Army and became part of occupied France . To provide defence against a possible beach landing by the Allies , the Organisation Todt constructed a number of sea defences in the area. Defences such as pillboxes are particularly noticeable on the beaches of the presqu'île d' Arvert and the island of Oléron . At the end of the war, the two last pockets of German resistance were both in this area: at La Rochelle in

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252-679: The first 'maritime' or 'admiralty' laws in that part of the world: the Rolls of Oléron . In 1306, Edward I of England granted the island to his son, Edward II , as part of the Duchy of Aquitaine . In 1793, during the French Revolution, the villages of the isle of Oléron were renamed. The Château d'Oléron became "Equality", Saint-Trojan became "La Montagne", Dolus became "Sans-Culotte", Saint-Pierre became "La Fraternité" and Saint-Georges became "L'Unité". The overall territory of Oleron became

273-561: The garrison surrendered on the following day. The isle of Oléron is known today for the quality of its oyster production. The island has an area of about 174 km (67 sq mi). It is a fertile and well cultivated island on the Atlantic coast of France, that is on the Bay of Biscay . The climate is generally mild (maritime temperate) with sufficient but not excessive rainfall, but with probably from 3 to 15 days of intense heat in

294-493: The island has been connected to the mainland by a road bridge. With a length of 2,862 m (9,390 ft) between abutments , it was the longest bridge in France at the time of construction. It is now the third one, after the Saint-Nazaire bridge and the Île de Ré bridge . It has been toll-free since 1991. To get to the island, it is possible to arrive at the stations of Surgères , Saintes or Rochefort, then take

315-524: The island of Liberty . A few years later, the original names were given back to the villages and towns. During the Second World War , the island was occupied by German forces and fortified. It was liberated by Free French Forces in an amphibious assault code-named Operation Jupiter on 29 April 1945. The French cruiser Duquesne fired 550 heavy shells at the German artillery batteries, and

336-449: The major agricultural products with maize and sunflowers being the others. Charente-Maritime is the headquarters of the major oyster producer Marennes-Oléron. Oysters cultivated here are shipped across Europe. Rochefort is a shipbuilding site and has been a major French naval base since 1665. La Rochelle is a seat of major French industry. Just outside the city, in Aytré , is

357-583: The north and Royan in the south. Despite Royan having been nearly destroyed during an RAF bombing raid on 5 January 1945, the town was not liberated by the French Forces of the Interior until April of the same year. La Rochelle was finally liberated on 9 May 1945. Charente-Maritime is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine administrative region. It is surrounded by the départements of Gironde , Charente , Deux-Sèvres , Dordogne and Vendée . It has

378-797: The northern part of the Aquitaine Basin . It is separated from the Massif Armoricain by the Marais Poitevin to the north-west and from the Parisian basin by the Seuil du Poitou to the north-east. The highest point in the département is in the woods of Chantemerlière, near the commune of Contré in the north-east, and rises to 173 m. The most populous commune is La Rochelle , the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 8,000 inhabitants: The climate

399-548: The summer months of July and August, mostly grouped. Oleron is located in the heart of the sunniest area of the French Atlantic coast. The island benefits from more than 2100 hours per year. Administratively, the island belongs to the Charente-Maritime département , in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine région . The island is divided into 8 communes : The island has about 22,000 inhabitants. Since 1966,

420-644: The vines. The vineyards did not recover, and grape production today is mainly for Cognac bois ordinaires . In the 7th and 8th century, the island, along with Ré , formed the Vacetae Insulae or Vacetian Islands, according to the Cosmographia . Vaceti was another name for the Vascones , the reference is seen evidence of Basque (Gascon) control of the islands by that time. It was at Oléron in about 1152 to 1160 that Eleanor of Aquitaine introduced

441-583: Was replaced by Sylvie Marcilly after the departmental elections of June 2021 . In the 2022 legislative election , Charente-Maritime elected the following members of the National Assembly : In the Senate , Charente-Maritime is represented by three members : Daniel Laurent (since 2008), Corinne Imbert (since 2014) and Mickaël Vallet (since 2020). Popular destinations include La Rochelle , Royan , Saintes , Saint-Jean-d'Angély , Rochefort ,

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