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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Royan (French pronunciation:[ʁwajɑ̃];Roeyan[ʁwejɑ̃] in theSaintongeais dialect;Occitan:Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west ofFrance, in thedepartment ofCharente-Maritime in theNouvelle-Aquitaine region.[3] Capital of theCôte de Beauté, Royan is one of the main French Atlantic coastal resort towns, and has five beaches, a marina for over 1,000 boats, and an active fishing port. As of 2013, the population of the greater urban area was 48,982. The town had 19,029 inhabitants in 2021.
Royan is located on the peninsula ofArvert, at the mouth of theGironde estuary on its eastern shore. Royan was once of strategic importance, coveted in particular by theVisigoths and theVikings. During the Reformation the city became a Protestant stronghold, and was besieged and destroyed by KingLouis XIII (ruled 1610–43). During theBourbon Restoration (1814–1830), and especially during theSecond Empire (1852–1870), Royan was celebrated for its sea baths. It attracted many artists during theRoaring Twenties.
Allied bombing between September 1944 and April 1945 destroyed the town. Known then as the "martyred city", it was declared a "Laboratory of research on urbanism", and it is now a showcase of theModernist architecture of the 1950s. It was classified as aTown of Art and History (Ville d'Art et d'Histoire) in 2010.[4] Royan today is a tourist and cultural hub, with some 90,000 visitors each summer season.[5]
Royan is a seasideresort town situated in the west of thedepartment ofCharente-Maritime, in the former province ofSaintonge. It lies near theAtlantic coast on the eastern shore of themouth of theGironde, Europe's largest estuary. Along the coastline of the commune, limestonecliffs alternate with the five beaches known locally asconches.
The town of Royan is built on acalcareous rock plateau dating from theCretaceous Period (c. 150 million years ago). It is bounded by the Pousseau marshes to the north and the Pontaillac marshes to the west. Theestuary, the cliffs and theconches were shaped approximately 66 million years ago by the folding oflimestone layers as theAlps and thePyrenees formed.
Royan is approximately 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the administrative capital (prefecture) of the department,La Rochelle, by departmental road D 733 and national road (Route nationale, RN) 137. It is 98 km (61 mi) fromBordeaux by departmental road D 730 and the A10 freeway, and 507 km (315 mi) fromParis. Between Royan and the town ofSaintes, the historic capital ofSaintonge and an important centre of art and history, travel time on the RN 150 is just under half an hour.
Royan SNCF railway station is the terminus of a line connecting the town toSaintes,Angoulême, andNiort (for the high-speedTGV rail link to Bordeaux and Paris).
Theconurbation of Royan does not have its own airport. 30 km (19 mi) away, Rochefort-Saint-Agnant Airport offers flights to several European destinations, including theBritish Isles.La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport is 70 km (43 mi) away. 100 km (62 mi) to the south,Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport provides international connections.
A ferry provides bicycle, car and lorry transport across the Gironde estuary toLe Verdon-sur-Mer in the Médoc region. The crossing takes about 30 minutes.[8]
The climate is oceanic: rainfall is relatively moderate in autumn and in winter and the winters are mild.Sea breezes keep summer temperatures moderate. Two winds, the north-westerlynoroît and the south-westerlysuroît, blow in from the ocean and along the coast of the department. The very high averageinsolation of 2,250 hours a year is comparable to theFrench Riviera.
Charente-Maritime was the department most affected byCyclone Martin on 27 December 1999. Winds speeds of up to 198 kilometres per hour (123 mph) were recorded on the island ofOléron, and 194 kilometres per hour (121 mph) in Royan, with severe damage to local buildings, woodland and harbour facilities.
The site of Royan has been occupied sinceprehistoric times, as evidenced by archaeological finds ofknapped flint.[citation needed] TheSantones, aCeltic people, were early arrivals on thepeninsula of Arvert. TheRomans developed vineyards, oyster farming, and thesaltern technique for salt production. The poetTibullus celebrates the coast after the victory of his patron, the generalMarcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, and the poetAusonius built a villa here. TheVisigoths arrived inSaintes in 418. In 419, defensive walls were built around Royan. Gregory of Tours mentions the usurpation of the church of Royan by theArianVisigoths. In the summer of 844, theVikings came up the Gironde, plundering everything in their path.[9]
Left image:Saint-Pierre church in 1918 Right image: Saint-Pierre church in 2010
At the beginning of the 11th century, a precarious peace returned to the peninsula. Smallfiefdoms and abbeys emerged. Between 1050 and 1075, the Prieuré de Saint-Vivien de Saintes built the Saint Pierre priory on the Saint-Pierre plateau, two kilometres from Royan and a small settlement grew there. In 1092, theGrande-Sauve Abbey built the Saint Nicolas priory nearby, on the Foncillon rock on the coast. A small castle in Royan protected the beach of Grande Conche, used as a harbour. Harbour activity was significant by the end of the 11th century, and many vessels used the Gironde estuary as a stopping point while waiting for favourable winds or currents. The Lord of Didonne took advantage of this to impose a tax on any boat mooring at the foot of thecastle.
The English king strengthened the town's defences with robustbulwarks and a solidkeep. The various taxes paid by ships in the 13th century were codified by the Lords of Royan in 1232 as the Custom of Royan (Coutume de Royan). On May 20, 1242, King Henry III of England, at war with KingLouis IX of France (Saint Louis), landed at Royan with 300 knights. Although defeated atTaillebourg, under theTreaty of Paris (1259) the English retained control of the south ofSaintonge, and with it the town of Royan. In 1355, during theHundred Years' War, theBlack Prince, heir to the throne of England, occupiedSaintonge and further strengthened Royan's defences. Royan became a large town, administered by twelve magistrates (échevins) and twelve councillors. In 1451, at the end of the Hundred Years' War, the region had become definitively French but the town was in ruins.
In 1458,Marie de Valois (1444–1473),natural daughter of KingCharles VII of France and hismistressAgnès Sorel, married Olivier de Coëtivy,Count ofTaillebourg. She brought adowry of 12,000écus and the fiefdoms, orchâtellenies, of Royan and Mornac. In 1501, by his marriage to Louise de Coëtivy, Charles de la Trémoille became Baron of Royan. Commerce developed in the town, but access was made difficult by the town's fortifications. From the beginning of the 16th century, a new quarter developed along the beachfront.
During theFrench Wars of Religion in the 16th century, many of the great captains of the time fought beneath the walls of thecitadel, among them Henri de Navarre, who would become King Henry III of Navarre and then KingHenry IV of France, andPierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, later aprior of Saint-Pierre-de-Royan). In 1592, Henry IV made the town amarquisate, granted to Gilbert de la Trémoille. At the beginning of the 17th century,Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette, the first Duke of Épernon, considered Royan "one of better places of its size in France". After the signing of theEdict of Nantes in 1598, it became a Protestant stronghold.
The town wasbesieged a first time in 1622 by KingLouis XIII, but resisted. A second siege in 1623 caused great hardship. Many inhabitants abandoned the city and werebanned from returning. Thegarrison was forced to surrender. In 1631,Cardinal Richelieu ordered the levelling of the town; the citadel was dismantled, and the ditches were filled in. The city, which no longer had a church, was associated with the ruralparish of Saint Pierre.
After therevocation of the Edict of Nantes, a majority of the population emigrated, many people going to theDutch Republic. Persecution continued under KingLouis XV. A great storm in 1735 destroyed theharbour embankment, and navigation was not restored until the 19th century.
On 22 December 1789, theNational Constituent Assembly set up in the early stages of theFrench Revolution voted for theadministrative division of France into departments in place of the former provinces. The department of Charente-Inférieure was created on 4 March 1790 with the entry into force of this law. Each department was subdivided into districts, and each district intocantons. Royan became the administrative centre of its canton.
Royan elected acity council at that time, chaired by Daniel Renaud, a Protestant, and mayor Nicolas-Thérese Vallet of Salignac. On July 12, 1790, the National Constituent Assembly passed a law, theCivil Constitution of the Clergy, which subordinated theCatholic Church to the government. The priests of the parishes of Royan, Vaux and Saint-Sulpice refused to take anobligatory oath of allegiance to France under this law, so joining the group of "refractory priests" (prêtres réfractaires) condemned todeportation.
Throughout the country, church properties were seized. In Royan, the 1622 convent of theRécollets, set in grounds of 33 hectares (82 acres), was put up for sale. It was bought on 25 February 1791, and then demolished, by shipowner Jean Boisseau[citation needed].
As elsewhere, economic crisis caused growing dissatisfaction in Royan. To counter this, patriotic clubs were formed. On 14 July 1790, on the occasion of the first Festival of the Federation (Fête de la Fédération celebrations the French Revolution, a ceremony was organized in the church of Saint Pierre for the swearing of thesolemn oath to the comingfirst French Constitution, adopted in 1791.
At the end of November 1790, mayor Nicolas-Thérese Vallet of Salignac was removed from office and was replaced by François d' Aulnis de Puiraveaux. In 1791, Daniel Renaud was elected mayor of the commune. In May 1791, the pro-republican, anti-royalistSociety of the Friends of the Constitution established a branch in Royan. In general terms, however, theReign of Terror (la Terreur) after the creation of theFirst French Republic had little impact in the area, and few of the local nobles were affected.
Work to pave the town's streets began in 1816, and was finally completed in 1826. In July 1819, mayor Raymond Labarthe signed the first order regulating sea bathing. This forbadenude bathing at beaches neighbouring houses, and reserved Foncillon beach for women. In 1820, it was forbidden "to wash pigs, horses and other cattle in the sea as we have baths". In 1836, a staircase was cut out of the rock to facilitate the landing of passengers from boats. By 1845, civil engineering works by the engineer Botton incorporated the Foncillon cliff into Royan's port. In 1847, the engineer Lessore built the town's firstcasino. The first street lights were installed in 1854, during a time of considerable development in the town under theSecond Empire (1852–1870). Between 1850 and 1870, tourist numbers increased from 9,000 to 10,000, and the population from 3,329 to 4,500.
Royan was a fashionable seaside resort in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with magnificent boulevards. In 1922, Royan achieved the classification of "summer resort". The town welcomed many prominent guests such asSacha Guitry,Yvonne Printemps,Mary Marquet,Jacques-Henri Lartigue or the painterPablo Picasso.
DuringWorld War II, two German forts defended the Gironde estuary:Gironde Mündung Nord (to the north, at Royan) andGironde Mündung Süd (to the south, at LaPointe de Grave). These constituted one of the last pockets ofThird Reich resistance along the Atlantic coast of France, well after theliberation of the rest of the country. A force of some 350 heavy bombers of theRoyal Air Force (RAF) bombed Royan in two raids conducted in the early hours of 5 January 1945, destroying the town. Four Lancaster heavy bombers were shot down; no aircrew survived. Two other bombers also crashed after colliding. The raid was ordered bySupreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF),[10] which had been told that the only people left in Royan were Germans and collaborators. Responsibility for this raid is generally attributed toGeneral de Larminat of theFree French Forces.[11]
TheAllied operation against the German forces on the island ofOléron and at the mouth of the Gironde estuary began with a general naval bombardment on 15 April 1945, some 10 months afterD-Day. For five days, the American naval task force assisted theFrench ground forces with naval bombardment and aerial reconnaissance in the assault on Royan and the Pointe de Grave area at the mouth of the Gironde. AmericanB-17 Flying Fortress andB-24 Liberator aircraft carried out aerial bombing missions, including extensive and pioneering use ofnapalm, finishing the destruction of 5 January.[12]
The first bombing raids killed over 1,000 civilians and only 23 German soldiers. When the Americans returned later and usednapalm, they destroyed the entire town and killed another 1,700 civilians.[12]
Blandford writes, "There was a Free French commander with the U.S. Seventh Army outside Royan, who was not informed until too late. The message was in French and the American signalman could not understand it. It took four hours to get it translated".
Royan's 1877neo-Gothic church, on what is now the Square Charles de Gaulle, was destroyed when Royan was bombed on January 5, 1945. After the war a new church was built, bigger, architecturally ambitious and spectacular, and drawing its aesthetic inspiration from the large Gothiccathedrals.
Notre-Dame de Royan, completed in 1958 and built entirely ofreinforced concrete by architects Guillaume Gillet and Marc Hébrard and engineersBernard Lafaille, René Sarger and Ou Tseng, is considered a masterpiece of contemporary architecture.[17] The church took three years to build. The elliptical nave is 45 metres long by 22 metres wide (148 ft × 72 ft) and has aseating capacity for some 2000 people. It is flanked by anambulatory, and a gallery three metres above the floor. The gallery is lit byrhombus-shapedstained glass representing theStations of the Cross. The building's structure alternates prestressed V-shaped reinforced concrete elements made using the Lafaille process, named for its inventor, French engineerBernard Lafaille, with huge windows, made by masterglazier Henri Martin-Granel and covering a total area of 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft). The church was classified as a historical monument in 1988.
ThePalais des congrès was built in 1957 by Bordeaux architect Claude Ferret. Its design is based on cubic geometry, relieved by the oblique lines of external staircases and by the subtle interweaving of convex inner walls. A glass wall opens a broad outlook onto the Gironde estuary, and the building was later extended with gardens under a transparent cube. It was classified as a historical monument in 2004.
Built in 1955 by architects Louis Simon and Andre Morisseau and engineer René Sarger, theMarché central de Royan [fr] is a round concrete shell with walls 8 centimetres (3 in) thick. It rests on thirteen peripheral support-points, and has no internal pillars. The structure is 52.4 metres (171.9 ft) indiameter, with a central height of 10.5 metres (34.4 ft). It served as the model for the market inNanterre and for the Centre of New Industries and Technologies (CNIT) in theLa Défense neighbourhood of Paris.
The mainstadium of the city is the Stade d'honneur, near the railway station. Royan has numerous other sports facilities, including twoswimming pools, of which one, at Foncillon, is an outdoor seawater pool open in the summer months; several gymnasiums; a sports hall; severaltennis courts; aBasque pelota wall; arugby ground; and agolf course.
The commune also has asurf-club, based near Pontaillac beach, and akarting circuit (KFM - Circuit of thecôte de beauté).
^Timetable N° 33 TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional train service, Le Verdon-Lesparre-Bordeaux-Macau-Pessac, valid from 27 August 2018 to 8 December 2018, retrieved on 16 October 2018.
^"La Ligne du Médoc" [The Médoc Line].Mémoire Ferroviaire de Bordeaux.fr (in French). Association "Mémoire Ferroviaire de Bordeaux" (Railway Memory of Bordeaux Association). Retrieved16 October 2018.
^Binot, Guy (1994). "Chapitre 1: Les origines, du mythe a la réalité" [Chapter 1: Origins, from Myth to Reality].Histoire de Royan et de la presqu'île d'Arvert [History of Royan and the Arvert Peninsula] (in French). Paris, France: Le Croît Vif. pp. 4–20.ISBN978-2-907967-17-4. Retrieved16 October 2018.
^MacBeath, George (1979) [1st pub. 1966]. "Dugua de Monts (Du Gua, de Mons), Pierre".Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Volume I (1000-1700). Toronto/Quebec, Canada: University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved15 October 2018.
^Piganeau, Didier (4 December 2013)."Royan : hommage au peintre Picasso en 2014" [Royan: Tribute to the Painter Picasso in 2014].Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux, France. Retrieved15 October 2018.
