Everything about Nantes France totally explained
|region=
Pays de la Loire
|departement=
Loire-Atlantique (44)
|mayor=
Jean-Marc Ayrault
|party =
PS
|mandat = 2008-2014
|area= 65.19
|population= 280,600
|date-population=2005 estimate
|population-ranking=
6 in France
|density= 4,304
|date-density= 2005
|UU-area= 476
|UU-area-date= 1999
|UU-pop = 544,932
|UU-pop-date= 1999
|AU-area= 2,242.6
|AU-area-date= 1999
|AU-pop = 711,120
|AU-pop-date= 1999
|intercom =
Urban Community
of Nantes
|insee = 44109
|cp = 44000, 44100, 44200 and 44300
|diallingcode = 02
|}}
Nantes (
Gallo:
Naunnt) is a city in western
France, located on the
Loire River, from the
Atlantic coast. The city is the
sixth largest in France, while its
metropolitan area is the eighth with 711,120 inhabitants at the 1999 census, and 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate.
Nantes is the
préfecture of the
Pays de la Loire région, as well as the
Loire-Atlantique département. It is also the most important city of the historic province of
Brittany, and culturally still remains strongly identified with it. The city's name derives from the Nemnètes, a
Gallic tribe who had settled there before the Romans conquered
Gaul.
In 2004,
Time described Nantes as "the most livable city in all of Europe".
Etymology
The name Nantes, in
French, derives from that of its pre-Roman-era inhabitants, the
Gaulish tribe known as the
Namnèti. The city was called
Portus Namnetus, during Roman occupation. The inhabitants of Nantes are known in French as
Nantais ([nɑ̃.tɛ]).
Nantes' most common nickname is as the
Venice of the West (), a name owing to its position on the
river delta of the
Loire, the
Erdre, and the
Sèvre (whose tributaries were infilled in the early 20 century).
History
Originally founded as a town by the
Gallic tribe named Namnèti around 70 BC, Nantes was conquered by
Julius Caesar in 56 BC and named
Portus Namnetus. Christianised in the 3 century AD, the city was successively invaded by the
Saxons (around 285), the
Franks (around 500), the
Britons (in the 6 and 7 centuries) and the
Normans, who laid it waste in 843:
"The city of Nantes remained for many years deserted, devastated and overgrown with briars and thorns." The
Chronicle of Nantes continues until the year 946, telling that
Alain Barbe-Torte, grandson of Alan the Great, the last king of
Brittany who was expelled by the Norse, drove them out and founded the
Duchy of Brittany.
When the Duchy of Brittany was annexed by the kingdom of France in 1532, Nantes kept the
Parliament of Brittany for a few years, before it was moved to
Rennes. In 1598, King
Henry IV of France signed the
Edict of Nantes here, which granted
Protestants rights to their religion.
During the 18 century, prior to
abolition of slavery, Nantes was the
slave trade capital of France. This kind of trade led Nantes to become the largest port in France and a wealthy city. When the
French Revolution broke out, Nantes chose to be part of it, although the whole surrounding region soon degenerated into an open civil war against the new republic known as the
War in the Vendée. On
29 June 1793 the town was the site of
a Republican victory in this war. The Loire was the site of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of executions by drowning, including those using the method which came to be known as the
Republican marriage, in which a man and a woman were stripped naked, tied together, and thrown into the river.
In the 19 century, Nantes became an industrial city. The first public transport anywhere may have been the
omnibus service initiated in Nantes in 1826. It was soon imitated in
Paris,
London and
New York. The first railways were built in 1851 and many industries were created. In 1940, the city was occupied by
German troops. In 1941, the murder of a German officer, Lt. Col.
Fritz Hotz, caused the retaliatory execution of 48 civilians. The city was twice severely bombed by British forces, on 16 and 23 August 1943, before being liberated by the Americans in 1944.
Until the 1970s, Nantes' harbour was located on the
Île de Nantes, when it was moved to the very mouth of the Loire river, at
Saint-Nazaire. In the subsequent 20 years, many
service sector organisations moved into the area, but economic difficulties forced most of these to close. In 2001, a major redevelopment scheme was launched, the goal of which is to revitalise the island as the new city centre.
Geography
Nantes is located on the banks of the
Loire River, at the
confluence of the
Erdre and the
Sèvre Nantaise, 55 km (35 mi) from the
Atlantic Ocean. The city was built in a place where many branches of the Loire river created several islands, but most of those branches were filled in at the beginning of the 20th century (and the confluence with the Erdre river diverted and covered) due to the increasing car traffic.
Politics
Nantes is the
préfecture (capital city) of both the
Loire-Atlantique département and the
Pays de la Loire région.
The Nantes
metropolitan area (
Nantes Métropole) is the
intercommunal structure connecting the city of Nantes with nearby suburbs. It had a 1999 population of 554,478, 48.7% of which comprised the city of Nantes. The current mayor of Nantes is
Jean-Marc Ayrault (
PS), first elected in 1989 and now serving a fourth term, until 2014.
Neighbourhoods
Since 1995, Nantes has been divided into 11 neighbourhoods, each resembling an historic city quarter. Each of these neighbourhoods is controlled by a
Comité Consultatif (Consultative Committee), comprising directly elected officials and a team of municipal members, similar to a
New England board of selectmen. These neighbourhoods are:
- Centre-ville
- Bellevue-Chantenay-Sainte Anne
- Dervallières-Zola
- Hauts-Pavés-Saint-Félix
|
Malakoff-Saint-Donatien
Île de Nantes
Breil-Barberie
Nantes-Nord
|
Nantes-Erdre
Bottière-Doulon
Nantes-Sud
|
Nine of these neighbourhoods are situated on the right bank of the
Loire, one is on the left bank, and one is on the Île de Nantes island.
Nantes and Brittany
The city of Nantes, and the Loire-Atlantique
département, were formerly part of the historic province of
Brittany; Nantes was one of its former capitals, along with
Rennes.
Historically, the country around Nantes (; ;
Gallo:
Paeï de Nàntt) was always seen as being part of Brittany. In 1207, the
Dukes of Brittany made Nantes their home, building the
Castle of the Dukes of Brittany on the banks of the Loire. Most of the dukes and duchesses were buried in either the cathedral or the nearby abbeys.
In 1789, the separation of the
historical provinces of France resulted in Brittany being split in five; the lower of the five,
Loire-Inférieure (today Loire-Atlantique) was where Nantes was situated. As such, Brittany as an administrative region didn't exist during the 19th and early 20th centuries, although it did still exist culturally and informally. When regional regroupments during the 20th century resulted in the reinstatement of the regions, Loire-Atlantique found itself split from the other four
départements by the
Vichy regime in 1941; a new
région had been created centred on Nantes, the
Pays de la Loire.
Much debate surrounding this move persists. Those against (sometimes called the
Breton militants) maintain that the separation was made by a non-democratically elected government, and that Loire-Atlantique is culturally, historically and geographically united to Brittany; those in favour argue that any reunification would reopen a "quarrel of the capitals" between Nantes and Rennes, and that it would be fatal to the
Pays de la Loire région.
The issue of linguistics is also relevant; in the east of Brittany (variously called
Bretagne Gallèse or
Haute Bretagne)
Romance languages especially the local
Gallo, as well as
French, have long had more influence than Breton. However, in many large cities, including Nantes and
Saint-Brieuc, the Breton language has sometimes been spoken more widely by the very urban and
bourgeois population there (even though in
Le Pays Nantais the opposite was true). In recent years, many bilingual plaques have appeared on tourist attractions in the city, with the help of the
Ofis ar brezhoneg (; ).
Most recently, on 15 May 2004, a hastily organised demonstration in Nantes calling for the reunification of Brittany attracted 6,000 participants, while in five surveys on the issue, between 62% and 75% of the population of Loire-Atlantique have come out in favour of reunification.
Demographics
As of the 1999 census, there were 270,251 inhabitants in the
commune of Nantes. The population density was 4260 persons/km². There were 711,120 inhabitants in the
metropolitan area.
As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city of Nantes has reached 285,800 inhabitants.
Climate
About 50 kilometers away from the coast, Nantes has generally cool winters and mild summers, with rainfalls at least every week, which makes Nantes a temperate city, though winters can be freezy and summers hot, especially during the month of July.
Miscellaneous
In 2003, the French weekly
L'Express voted Nantes to be the "greenest city" in France, while in both 2003 and 2004 it was voted the "best place to live" by the weekly
Le Point. In August 2004,
Time designated Nantes as the "the most livable city in all of Europe".
The local
football team is
FC Nantes Atlantique. During the
2007 Rugby World Cup in France, Nantes hosted a number of matches including
England against
Samoa and
Wales against
Fiji.
The Celtic band
Tri Yann was originally known as
Tri Yann an Naoned (the three Johns from Nantes).
On
December 31,
2006, some 600 people gathered in Nantes to facetiously protest the arrival of the New Year. They marched and held up banners that read "No to 2007" and "Now is better!" The protesters asked several governments and even the
UN to declare a moratorium on the future. When the clock ticked past midnight, indicating the arrival of 2007, the protesters happily began to cheer "No to 2008!" The organisers claimed that they'd stage the same event at the end of 2007, but this time on the
Champs-Élysées avenue in
Paris.
Colleges and universities
Transport
The
omnibus, the first organized public transit system within a city, appears to have originated in Nantes in 1826. The
Tramway de Nantes began operation in 1879, but would close in 1958. The system was reopened in 1985, and is now the largest tramway network in France.
Transport de l'agglomération nantaise (TAN) operate three tramway lines, one
BusWay line, dozens of bus lines, two navibus lines and four suburban train lines.
Current expansion projects on the tram network include the extension of line one and a link between lines one and two on the northern part of the network. One more station is currently under construction on the north side of line three. Line three replaces line two on its south side, which now ends at Neustrie, near
Nantes Atlantique Airport. Line two now ends in the borough of Rezé at a new station named
Gare de Pont Rousseau, which is connected to a suburban train station of the same name.
Nantes lies on a number of rail lines, including several
TGV lines. Nantes is connected via TGV to
Paris,
Lyon,
Marseille,
Lille, and
Strasbourg. By
Corail (classical train), Nantes is connected to
Quimper,
La Rochelle,
Bordeaux,
Lyon, and
Toulouse.
Transport express régional (TER, regional transport) links to
Saint-Nazaire,
Angers,
Le Mans,
La Roche sur Yon, and many other regional cities.
Nantes Atlantique Airport, located to the south west, serves the city and surrounding areas.
The construction of
L’Aéroport du Grand Ouest is soon expected to begin at
Notre-Dame-des-Landes, just north of Nantes. The €580 million project is expected to come into operational use by 2012, and will become the main airport of western France.
Leisure and sights
Castles and churches
Château des ducs de Bretagne (Castle of the Dukes of Brittany).
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
Église Notre-Dame de Bon-Port (Basilica of Saint-Louis).
Église Saint-Nicolas (Church of Saint Nicolas).
Église Sainte-Croix (Church of the Holy Cross).
Museums
Musée d'histoire de Nantes (Nantes History Museum); located inside the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany.
Musée des Beaux arts de Nantes (Fine Arts Museum of Nantes).
Musée Thomas Dobrée (Thomas Dobrée archaeological museum).
Muséum d'histoire naturelle (Natural History museum).
Musée Jules Verne (Jules Verne museum).
Musée de l'imprimerie (museum of printing).
Musée naval Maillé-Brézé (naval museum).
Musée de la machine à coudre (sewing machine museum).
Musée des sapeurs pompiers du Pays de la Loire; the firefighting museum of the Pays de la Loire
Musée des compagnons du devoir, also Manoir de la Hautière; an exhibition of masterpieces crafted by journeymen.
The Pays de la Loire regional contemporary art collection.
The Planetarium.
Historical places
The Isle of Nantes; a former shipyard turned into a leisure and cultural site, including the Machines of the Isle of Nantes permanent exhibition.
Passage Pommeraye; 19 century galleria with shopping.
Brasserie La Cigale; described by Jean-Louis Trintignant as "perhaps the most beautiful brasserie in the world".
Place du Commerce; the city's main square.
Place Royale; an historic square located in the heart of the city, recently renewed.
Place Graslin; an historic place featuring the Theatre of Nantes and famous brasserie La Cigale.
Crebillon street and Orleans street lined with luxury boutiques linked by the Place Royale.
The new Palais de Justice (court house); built in 2000 and designed by Jean Nouvel.
La Tour LU (the LU Tower); a tower standing the entrance of the former Lefèvre-Utile Biscuit Co. factory.
Beaujoire Stadium; Nantes' largest sports stadium, home of FC Nantes Atlantique soccer club.
Le Marché de Talensac (Talensac Market); the main and historical public market.
Parks and gardens
| Jardin des plantes de Nantes (Botanical Gardens of Nantes).
Île de Versailles (Versailles Island); Japanese gardens.
Parc de Procé (Procé Park).
Parc du Grand Blottereau (Grand Blottereau Park).
Parc de la Chantrerie (Chanterie Park).
|
Parc de la Beaujoire (Beaujoire Park).
Parc de la Gaudinière (Gaudiniere Park).
Le cimetière paysager (Landscape cemetery).
Le jardin des cinq sens (Five Senses Garden).
Vallée de l'Edre (Erdre Valley).
Prairie aux Ducs.
|
Concert halls
| Nantes Zénith (concert hall); France's largest and newest, which can hold 8,500 people.
Théâtre Graslin (Graslin Theatre); Nantes' opera house & historic theatre.
Lieu Unique; located in the former LU biscuit factory.
Olympic; built in an old cinema in 1927.
Carrière; located in the borough of Saint-Herblain.
Trocardière; located in the borough of Rezé.
Onyx; located in the Atlantis commercial zone, designed by Jean Nouvel.
|
Pannonica.
Cité des congrès.
Terrain Neutre Théatre.
Bouche D'Air.
University Theatre.
|
Cinemas
Gaumont Nantes; centrally located at the Place du Commerce in the heart of the city.
Katorza; classified arts cinema, located next to place Graslin on the left side of the theatre.
Concorde; an historic cinema in central Nantes.
UGC Atlantis; located in the borough of Saint-Herblain, in the Atlantis commercial zone.
Pathé Atlantis; also located in the borough of Saint-Herblain, in the Atlantis commercial zone.
Cineville; Nantes' newest cinema located in the borough of Saint Sébastien.
Cinématographe; specialises in arthouse movies.
Media
Local television channels
| Nantes 7.
|
Télénantes.
|
France 3 Pays de la Loire.
|
Radio stations
Nova 87.8.
Radio Prun' 92.0.
Rires Et Chansons 88.4.
MFM Sud Loire 88.8.
Alouette 89.5.
RFM 90.1.
France-Inter 90.6..
FIP Nantes 95.7..
Hit West 100.9.
Radio France Bleu Loire-Ocean 101.8.
RTL 104.3.
Europe 1 104.7.
France Infos 105.5.
Cherie FM 106.2.
Radio Classique 106.7.
BFM 107.2.
Newspapers
Newspapers for sale:
| Ouest France.
Nouvel Ouest.
|
Le Journal Des Entreprise.
Nantes Poche.
|
Presse Ocean
L'éclair.
|
Free newspapers:
| Kostar.
La lettre A Lulu.
Le mois Nantais.
Fragil.
|
Métro.
20 Minutes.
Nantes Attitude.
Nantes Passion.
|
Pil.
Pulsomatic.
People Nantes.
|
INSITU Nantes.
Bretagne Plus.
Direct Soir.
|
Famous Nantais
Anne of Brittany; Duchess of Brittany and Queen of France. Known as the only women to have married two kings of France, Charles VIII and Louis XII.
Pierre Jacques Etienne Cambronne; commander of the Old Guard at Waterloo.
Claire Bretécher; cartoonist.
Aristide Briand; French statesman, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob); photographer and writer.
Jean Graton; cartoonist.
Rene Pauvert; chef.
Julien de Lallande Poydras; former New Orleans member of the United States House of Representatives.
Suzanne Malherbe; artist.
Benoit Regent; actor.
Jules Verne; writer.
Eric Tabarly; sailor.
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau; French statesman.
Louis de la Moriciere; commander of the Papal Army.
Twinnings
Nantes has town twinning agreements with several cities:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Nantes France'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://nantes.totallyexplained.com">Nantes Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
