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For the place in Brazil, see Nantes, São Paulo.
Nantes
Traditional houses on the Île Feydeau.
Location of
Map
CountryFrance
Government
 • MayorJean-Marc Ayrault (PS)
Population
280,600
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
44109 /

Nantes (Template:Lang-br; Gallo: Naunnt) is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, Template:Km to mi from the Atlantic coast.[1] The city is the eighth largest in France, with 711,120 inhabitants in its metropolitan area at the 1999 census, and 790,318 inhabitants at a 2007 estimate.[2]

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.[3] The city's name derives from the Nemnètes, a Gallic tribe who had settled there before the Romans conquered Gaul.[4]

In 2004, Time described Nantes as "the most livable city in all of Europe".[5]

Etymology

The name Nantes, Template:PronEng 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 (Template:Lang-fr),[6] 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).[7]

See Wiktionary for the name of Nantes in various languages other than English and French.

History

The Marité schooner at the Port of Nantes
L'île Feydeau

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 3Do not use this template. Use {{RD1}}, {{RD2}} or {{RD3}} instead. 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.[8][9]

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 first 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. 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.[10]

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.[11]

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

Further information: Urban Community of Nantes and List of mayors of Nantes

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 third term, until 2008.[12]

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

File:PLflag.gif
Flag of the Pays de la Loire
Flag of Bretagne

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.[13]

Historically, the country around Nantes (Template:Lang-fr; Template:Lang-br; 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 did not exist during the 19th and early 20th centuries, although it did still exist culturally and informally.[14] 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.[15]

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 (Template:Lang-fr; Template:Lang-en).

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.[16]

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.[citation needed]

As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city of Nantes has reached 276,200 inhabitants.[citation needed]

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.[17]

Miscellaneous

The Cathedral of Nantes

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".[5][18]

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 would stage the same event at the end of 2007, but this time on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris.[19]

Colleges and universities

Transport

Public transport

The tramway of Nantes

The omnibus, the first organized public transit system within a city, appears to have originated in Nantes in 1826.[20] 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.[21] 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, nearby 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.

Rail

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.

Airports

Nantes Atlantique Airport, located to the south west, serves the city and surrounding areas, with daily flights linking main French airports as well as several European cities and further destinations.

Template:Future infrastructure 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.[22]

Leisure and sights

The courtyard of the Château des Ducs de Bretagne

Castles and churches

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

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