Fontenay-le-Comte ( IPA: [fɔ̃tənɛ lə kɔ̃t] ; Poitevin : Funtenaes or Fintenè ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France . In 2018, it had a population of 13,302, while its functional area had a population of 41,273.
6-522: The river Vendée flows through the town. The town has an area of 34 km (13 sq mi). Fontenay was in existence as early as the time of the Gauls . The affix of comte is said to have been applied to it when it was taken by King Louis IX from the family of Lusignan and given to his brother Alphonse, count of Poitou , under whom it became capital of Bas-Poitou. Ceded to the Plantagenets by
12-637: A 82.5-kilometre-long (51.3 mi) river in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire regions in western France . It a right tributary of the Sèvre Niortaise . Its source is near L'Absie , in the west of the Deux-Sèvres department . For a few kilometres, it forms the border between the departments of Vendée (named after the river) and Charente-Maritime , before it flows into the Sèvre Niortaise , near Marans . The name
18-666: Is attested as Fluvium Vendre in the 10th century, and as Flumen Vendee and Vendeia by the 11th century. According to Pierre-Henri Billy, the name ultimately derives from the Celtic toponym *vindo- meaning white or brilliant in a sacred context (as in the Modern Welsh gwyn/wyn ). The name likely originates in Proto-Celtic or Gaulish , but may also have originated in the Gallo or Old Breton languages. It flows through
24-758: The Treaty of Brétigny , in 1360 it was retaken in 1372 by Duguesclin . It suffered repeated capture during the Religious Wars of the 16th century, was dismantled in 1621 and was occupied both by the Republicans and the Royalist Vendeans during the Revolt in the Vendée (1793). From 1790 to 1806 it was capital of the Vendée department. At Maison Laval on rue Rabelais , a townhouse built at the end of
30-652: The 18th Century, Emperor Napoleon 1st and his wife, Joséphine, spent the night of 7–8 August 1808. On their way from Rochefort to Nantes , they had stopped off in the Bas-Poitou capital of Fontenay-le-Comte where they were the guests of Mayor Laval who, to give them a dignified welcome, had prepared a triumphal arch over the Pont Neuf bridge. That night, the Emperor learned of the defeat of General Dupont at Bailem. The General's surrender, which seriously compromised
36-503: The French army's position in Spain , threw the Emperor into a deep rage. If word is to be believed, the Emperor smashed an earthenware vase placed in front of him. Fontenay-le-Comte was the birthplace of: Fontenay-le-Comte is twinned with: Vend%C3%A9e (river) The Vendée ( US : / v ɒ̃ ˈ d eɪ / , French: [vɑ̃de] ; Occitan : Vendèa ) is
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