Where is La Rochelle located?
La Rochelle is the administrative center of the department of the Maritime Charente, located on the Bay of Biscay, 480 km from the French capital Paris. The population of La Rochelle is about 77 thousand people.
La Rochelle is a major port city on the west coast of the Atlantic, which gained fame due to the active trade in salt and slaves in the Middle Ages. Today La Rochelle is a beautiful picturesque city that preserves its history, attracts crowds of tourists, and is famous for its jazz festivals, sailing regattas and fish markets.
The city covers just under 30 square kilometers. The time difference with Moscow is minus 1 hour in winter and 2 hours in summer. The phone code is (+33)546. More information about the city can be found on the official website.
From the history of La Rochelle
The founding of the city dates back to the middle of the tenth century. Already in the XI-XІІІ centuries. the city was favored by the Knights Templar, who made La Rochelle a major trading port. There is still a street of Templars in the city. Until the XV century La Rochelle held the first place among the seaports of the Atlantic. With the beginning of the Reformation, the city became a Huguenot citadel. The city's independence and wealth attracted the attention of the king. In 1627 the siege of La Rochelle by the royal troops under the command of Duke Richelieu began. Almost a year of stubborn resistance did not lead to victory and the starving defenders of the city were forced to surrender to the mercy of the victor.
It was not until active trade with Canada and the Antilles that La Rochelle again became a large and important center. In the twentieth century, the port of La Rochelle was improved and became a deep-water port. During the Second World War this peculiarity of the port was used by the Germans, having arranged here a bunker for submarines, which has been preserved till nowadays. By the way, La Rochelle was the last town in France to be liberated by the Allies.
