Blaye
Encyclopedia
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
and subprefecture in the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
department in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
in southwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Population
Its inhabitants are called Blayais or the Blayaises.Geography
Blaye is located on the right bank of the Gironde estuaryGironde estuary
The Gironde is a navigable estuary , in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just below the centre of Bordeaux...
(which is some 3 km (1.9 mi) wide at this point), close to the A10 autoroute, 56 km (34.8 mi) north of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. There is a rail line with occasional freight trains, but no passenger services. A small ferry crosses the Gironde to Lamarque, in Medoc
Médoc
The Médoc is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe...
.
History
In ancient times Blaye (Blavia) was a port of the SantonesSantones
The Santones or Santoni were a tribe of ancient Gaul located in the modern region of Saintonge and around the city of Saintes, city to which they gave their name. The Romans occupied the territory of the Santones from the 1st century BC....
. Tradition states that the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
hero Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
was buried in its basilica, which was on the site of the citadel. It was early an important stronghold which played an important part in the wars against the English (who burnt it in 1352) and the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
(when it was the site of a Spanish naval victory
Battle of Blaye
The Battle of Blaye was a 1593 Spanish victory of the Anglo–Spanish War and the French Wars of Religion.The previous year Pedro de Zubiaur had dispersed an English convoy of 40 ships, burning the flagship and capturing three others, but a further English fleet of 6 ships then arrived and prevented...
in 1593). The duchess of Berry was imprisoned in its fortress in 1832-1833.
The town was formerly named Blaye-et-Sainte-Luce and was renamed Blaye in June 1961.
Sights
The town has a citadel built by VaubanVauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
on a rock beside the river, and embracing in its ancient ruins of an old Gothic château. The latter contains the tomb of Charibert II
Charibert II
Charibert II , a son of Clotaire II and his junior wife Sichilde, was briefly King of Aquitaine from 629 to his death, with his capital at Toulouse. We have no direct statement about when Charibert was born exact that he was "a few years younger" than his half-brother Dagobert...
, king of Aquitaine, and son of Clotaire II
Clotaire II
Chlothar II , called the Great or the Young , King of Neustria, and, from 613 to 629, King of all the Franks, was not yet born when his father, King Chilperic I died in 584...
. Blaye is also defended by the Fort Paté on an island in the river and the Fort Médoc on its left bank, both of the 17th century.
The citadel of Blaye, its city walls, the Fort Paté and the Fort Médoc (the latter in nearby Cussac-Fort-Médoc
Cussac-Fort-Médoc
Cussac-Fort-Médoc is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.Fort Médoc in Cussac-Fort-Médoc, together with several buildings in nearby Blaye, was listed in 2008 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the "Fortifications of Vauban"...
) were listed in 2008 as UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Sites, as part of the "Fortifications of Vauban
Fortifications of Vauban
Fortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban , and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
" group.
Economy
Blaye has a small river-port, mainly used for grain exports. Fine red wine is produced in the district, in the AOCAppellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
Côtes de Blaye
Blaye AOC
Blaye is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux region. It is located on the right bank of the River Gironde....
. A large nuclear power station
Blayais Nuclear Power Plant
The Blayais Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear plant on the banks of the Gironde estuary near Blaye, South Western France operated by Électricité de France.-Description:...
with four reactors is located nearby.
Education
Several schools are located in Blaye http://www.blaye.net/25203/13838.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*.Public schools include the following:
- Ecole Maternelle Pierre Bergeon
- Ecole Maternelle Lucien Grosperrin
- Ecole Elementaire Pierre Malbeteau
- Ecole Elementaire Andre Vallaeys