|
|
| |
Our History
&
Patrimoine
// History |
|
|
|
|
|
Water, which nourishes man and provides a means of transport, has marked the history of Loire-Atlantique. Since the Middle Ages, the development of maritime and river traffic has gone hand-in-hand with that of the département. |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
In prehistoric times, groups of hunters and fishermen assembled along the coast and the estuary.
In the 5th century BC, the Namnetes, a tribe of Celtic origin and the founders of Nantes, settled in the north of the département, and the Pictones in the south.
After the arrival of Christianity, monks built ports, developed the salt marshes by the sea and expanded grape cultivation south of the Loire.
In the 10th century, Alain Barbe-Torte made Nantes the capital of the duchy of Brittany. To protect it from its enemies, military constructions were undertaken (Châteaubriant, La Motte-Glain, Ancenis, Clisson).
After the duchy was united with the kingdom of France in 1532, these fortresses became private homes. The current borders of the département date back to 1790. |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
In the Middle Ages, the area’s ports were already welcoming merchants from all over Europe. Specialising in exports to Northern Europe, maritime traffic reached its peak in the 18th century with the triangular trade and the importation of exotic products.
Shipbuilding developed as a consequence, and the Nantes shipyards produced some prestigious vessels. The silting up of the Loire led to the permanent closure of the Nantes site during the 1980s and the transfer of production to Saint-Nazaire.
During the Second World War, Saint-Nazaire and its estuary were a strategic site in the “Atlantic Wall”, with a German submarine base which resisted the Allies until 11 May 1945: the Poche de Saint-Nazaire. |
|
|
