La Roche-sur-Yon (pronounced: [la ʁɔʃ syʁ jɔ̃]) is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. Its inhabitants are called Yonnais.
History
The town expanded significantly after Napoleon I had chosen the site as the new préfecture of the Vendée on 25 May 1804, replacing Fontenay-le-Comte (then under its revolutionary name of Fontenay-le-Peuple). At the time, most of La Roche had been eradicated in the Vendée Revolt (1793–96); the renamed Napoléonville was laid out and a fresh population of soldiers and civil servants was brought in. Napoléonville was designed to accommodate 15,000 people.[1]
The town was called successively:
- La Roche-sur-Yon (during the Ancien Régime and the French First Republic)
- Napoléon-sur-Yon (during the First French Empire)
- Bourbon-Vendée (during the French Restoration)
- Napoléon-Vendée (during the French Second Empire)
Geography
The river Yon flows southward through the commune and crosses the town.
Climate
| Climate data for La Roche-sur-Yon (1981–2010 averages) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.9 (60.6) |
20.2 (68.4) |
24.1 (75.4) |
28.1 (82.6) |
30.7 (87.3) |
36.9 (98.4) |
36.6 (97.9) |
38.7 (101.7) |
33.7 (92.7) |
29.9 (85.8) |
21.1 (70) |
18.7 (65.7) |
38.7 (101.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8.5 (47.3) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.5 (54.5) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.8 (65.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.6 (76.3) |
21.8 (71.2) |
17.3 (63.1) |
12.0 (53.6) |
8.9 (48) |
16.3 (61.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 2.6 (36.7) |
2.2 (36) |
4.0 (39.2) |
5.5 (41.9) |
9.1 (48.4) |
11.8 (53.2) |
13.7 (56.7) |
13.4 (56.1) |
11.1 (52) |
9.0 (48.2) |
5.2 (41.4) |
2.9 (37.2) |
7.5 (45.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −14.9 (5.2) |
−15.4 (4.3) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
2.8 (37) |
7.2 (45) |
5.1 (41.2) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−15.4 (4.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 103.5 (4.075) |
66.0 (2.598) |
70.5 (2.776) |
67.9 (2.673) |
64.5 (2.539) |
44.5 (1.752) |
51.3 (2.02) |
46.1 (1.815) |
73.0 (2.874) |
107.6 (4.236) |
103.5 (4.075) |
102.5 (4.035) |
900.9 (35.469) |
| Average precipitation days | 12.5 | 10.1 | 10.8 | 11.1 | 9.1 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 12.4 | 13.4 | 12.5 | 121.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 72.4 | 102.8 | 145.4 | 171.1 | 198.8 | 230.6 | 232.3 | 229.7 | 194.2 | 124.1 | 81.2 | 69.4 | 1,852 |
| Source: Meteo France[2][3] | |||||||||||||
Administration
The Communauté d'agglomération "La Roche-sur-Yon Agglomération" contains 15 communes:
- Aubigny
- Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux
- La Chaize-le-Vicomte
- Les Clouzeaux
- Dompierre-sur-Yon
- La Ferrière
- Fougeré
- Landeronde
- Mouilleron-le-Captif
- Nesmy
- La Roche-sur-Yon
- Saint-Florent-des-Bois
- Le Tablier
- Thorigny
- Venansault
La Roche-sur-Yon is the chief town of the Arrondissement of La Roche-sur-Yon, which covers 11 cantons, 92 communes, and has a population of 230,386 (1999 census).
La-Roche-sur-Yon is chief town of two cantons, Canton of La Roche-sur-Yon-1 and Canton of La Roche-sur-Yon-2.
Main sights
-
Napoléon's statue (1854)
-
Kiosk on Napoléon square
-
Napoléon square
-
Saint-Louis church
-
Saint-Louis church
-
Saint-Louis church organ
-
Saint Louis Church of La Roche-sur-Yon
-
Saint Louis Church of La Roche-sur-Yon
-
Theatre
-
Old Hospital
-
Museum
-
Post office
-
Prefecture building
-
Sacré-cœur church
-
Renaissance house (1566)
-
Old Palais de Justice
-
Benjamin Rabier media library
-
Train station
-
Abbey of Fontenelles
Transport
The Gare de La Roche-sur-Yon railway station offers connections to Nantes, Paris, Les Sables-d'Olonne, Bordeaux and several regional destinations. The A87 motorway connects La Roche-sur-Yon with Les Sables-d'Olonne and Angers, the A83 with Nantes and Niort.
Education
The commune has designated attendance zones for its primary schools.[4]
Schools include:
- 2 public preschools (écoles maternelles)[5]
- 2 public elementary schools[5]
- 13 public school groups of combined preschools and elementary schools[5]
- 6 private elementary schools[5]
- Public junior high schools: Collège Auguste et Jean-Renoir, Collège mixte Les Gondoliers, Collège mixte Edouard Herriot, Collège Haxo[6]
- Private junior high schools: Collège mixte du Sacré-Coeur, Collège mixte Richelieu, Collège mixte Saint-Louis[6]
- Public senior high schools: Lycée Nature (general education and agricultural technology), Lycée d'état mixte Alfred-Kastler, Lycée polyvalent Jean de Lattre-de-Tassigny, Lycée polyvalent Pierre-Mendès-France, and Lycée professionnel Edoaurd Branly[7]
- Private senior high schools: Lycée Saint-François d'Assise, Lycée d'enseignement général et technologique Notre-Dame-du-Roc, Lycée les Etablières[7]
- One grande école : Institut catholique d'arts et métiers
Sports
In 2014 La Roche-sur-yon hosted the 2014 French championship of table tennis [8]
La Roche-sur-Yon's Vendéspace hosted one of the first round ties of the 2014 Davis Cup tennis tournament over the weekend of 31 January - 2 February 2014. France hosted Australia as both teams competed for a place in the World Group quarterfinals.
In 2015 La Roche-sur-Yon, will host the 2015 FIRS Men's Roller Hockey World Cup, the first time that a World Cup of roller hockey is held in France.
In June 2015 La Roche-sur-Yon's Vendéspace will host the qualification tournament for the World Championships in Savate Combat [9]
Twin towns
La Roche-sur-Yon is twinned with:
Gummersbach, Germany
Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Drummondville, Canada
Cáceres, Spain, since 1982
Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, since 1989
Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia- Burg bei Magdeburg, Germany, since 2005
See also
References
- ^ Graham Robb, The Discovery of France, Picador, London (2007), pp257-8
- ^ "Données climatiques de la station de La Roche-sur-Yon" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "Climat Pays de la Loire" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
- ^ "Sectorisation scolaire 2016." La Roche-sur-Yon. Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "[1]." La Roche Sur-Yon. Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
- ^ a b "Collèges." La Roche Sur-Yon. Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
- ^ a b "Lycées." La Roche Sur-Yon. Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
- ^ http://www.tennis2table.com/Championnat-de-France/les-championnats-de-france-2014-de-tennis-de-table.html
- ^ http://vendespace.vendee.fr/Agenda/Sports/TOURNOI-QUALIFICATIF-DE-SAVATE-BOXE-FRANCAISE/vendredi-05-juin-2015-samedi-06-juin-2015
External links
- Official website (French)
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