Noirmoutier-en-l'Île

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Noirmoutier-en-l'Île
Noirmoutier-en-l'Île Coat of Arms
Noirmoutier-en-l'Île (France)
Noirmoutier-en-l'Île
region Pays de la Loire
Department Vendée
Arrondissement Les Sables-d'Olonne
Canton Saint-Jean-de-Monts
Community association Ile de Noirmoutier
Coordinates 47 ° 0 ′  N , 2 ° 15 ′  W Coordinates: 47 ° 0 ′  N , 2 ° 15 ′  W
height 0-20 m
surface 19.59 km 2
Residents 4,668 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 238 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 85330
INSEE code
Website http://www.ville-noirmoutier.fr/

Noirmoutier Castle

Noirmoutier-en-l'Île , generally just Noirmoutier , is a French commune with 4668 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) on the Île de Noirmoutier in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire region .

geography

A special feature of Noirmoutier is the Gois , the 4.5 km long connecting road between the island and the mainland, which is only passable at low tide. To this day, people who are surprised by the flood drown here again and again. Metal rescue cages are attached to tall pillars at regular intervals along the route through the mudflats. Since 1971, a bridge has also connected the southern tip of the island with the mainland.

history

The Noirmoutier Abbey was founded in 674 by Philibert von Noirmoutier († 684), who had previously founded the Jumièges Abbey . At that time the island was still called Île d'Hério .

In the 8th century, the Vikings began to pillage the French coast. In 799 they had already reached the coast of Aquitaine . In the year 835 the monastery was looted, at that time the village was already a center for wine and salt trade. The monks fled. In 843 the Vikings went up the Loire ( Loire-Normans ), but returned to Noirmoutier in winter and set up their winter camp there.

A castle was built in the 11th century and withstood attacks by the English in 1342, 1360 and 1396 and attacks by the Spanish in 1524 and 1588. In 1674, however, the facility fell into the hands of Dutch troops.

In the uprising of the Vendée from March 1793 to March 1796, the Île de Noirmoutier was heavily fought over and the inhabitants of the city were also affected by the fighting.

Population development
year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2009
Residents 3,906 4,020 4,070 4,518 4,846 5,002 4,661

economy

The Bonnotte potato is grown on Noirmoutier and is considered a specialty around the world. The residents also breed oysters. The city has a port through which the salt produced on the island was shipped from salt marshes .

Attractions

See also: List of Monuments historiques in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île

The Saint Philbert Abbey Church dates from the 12th century. In the church there is a crypt from the Merovingian period (7th-8th centuries) classified as a monument historique . Before the monks brought Philibert's relics to Tournus in 875 , he was buried in the crypt.

A fortification wall was built around the castle's square donjon from the 11th century in the 16th and 17th centuries. At the beginning of the 18th century, the towers of the former castle were rebuilt. In the 19th century the castle was used as a barracks.

Partnerships

Noirmoutier has partnerships with the municipalities of Padrón in the Spanish region of Galicia (since 1992), Crestview (Florida) in the USA, Ezcaray in the Spanish region of La Rioja (since 2008) and - planned for 2013 - with Malpica de Bergantiños also in Galicia .

Others

The 105th Tour de France for professional cyclists will start here on July 7, 2018 .

literature

  • Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Vendée. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-84234-118-X , pp. 687-693.

Web links

Commons : Noirmoutier-en-l'Île  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Eglise Saint Philbert on ile-noirmoutier.com in French.
  2. James Graham-Campbell: The Viking world . frances lincoln ltd, London 2001, ISBN 978-0-7112-1800-0 , p. 31 ( in Google Books [accessed November 3, 2009]). (English).
  3. Noirmoutier-en-l'Île in Base Mérimée (French). Retrieved November 3, 2009.