Communauté d'agglomération de La Rochelle

La Rochelle (UK: , US: , French: [la ʁɔʃɛl] (listen); Poitevin-Saintongeais: La Rochéle; Occitan: La Rochèla [la ruˈtʃɛlɔ]) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With 75,735 inhabitants in 2017, La Rochelle is the most populated commune in the department and ranks fifth in the New Aquitaine region after Bordeaux, the regional capital, Limoges, Poitiers and Pau. Its inhabitants are called "les Rochelaises" and "les Rochelais". Situated on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean the city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2.9-kilometre-long (1+3⁄4-mile) bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Since the Middle-Ages the harbour has opened onto a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche and is regarded as a "Door océane" or gateway to the ocean because of the presence of its three ports (fishing, trade and yachting). The city has a strong commercial tradition, having an active port from very early on in its history. La Rochelle underwent sustained development in the middle ages, and has maintained a standing in modern times because of its port, La Pallice, the only deep water port of the French Atlantic coast; it is ranked as the sixth most important port of France. The city traces its origins to the Gallo-Roman period, attested by the remains of important salt marshes and villas. The Dukes of Aquitaine granted it a charter as a free port in 1130. With the opening of the English market following the second marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, the presence of the Knights Templar and the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem quickly made this small town the largest port on the Atlantic.To this day, the city still possesses a rich historical fabric, including the Saint-Nicholas tower, and an urban heritage. The capital of Aunis, it has become the most important coastal city between the Loire and Gironde estuaries. La Rochelle's urban activities are many in number and strongly differentiated, being a city with port and industrial functions that are still important, but also including a predominantly administrative and tertiary sector that is reinforced by the university and a rapidly developing tourism industry. In the early 21st century, the city has consistently been ranked among France's most liveable cities.

The cantons of La Rochelle are administrative divisions of the Charente-Maritime department, in western France. Since the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the town of La Rochelle is subdivided into 3 cantons. Their seat is in La Rochelle.

The siege of La Rochelle of 1224 was the decisive engagement in the campaign between the Capetians and the Plantagenets for control of Poitou. French royal forces commanded by Capetian king Louis VIII laid siege to the strategic port of La Rochelle and its garrison of Poitevin and English soldiers commanded by Savari de Mauléon. The port had long been a staging ground for Plantagenet efforts to regain their continental lands lost to the French crown since 1203. The siege lasted from July to August 1224, and resulted in La Rochelle's citizens surrendering the city to Louis after the failure of English relief to emerge. The siege of La Rochelle was the crowning event of the Capetian conquest of Poitou from the Plantagenets. With Poitou in Capetian hands, only Gascony remained under Plantagenet rule on the continent.

The siege of La Rochelle of 1572–1573 was a massive military assault on the Huguenot city of La Rochelle by Catholic troops during the fourth phase of the French Wars of Religion, following the August 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The conflict began in November 1572 when inhabitants of the city refused to receive Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron, as royal governor. Beginning on 11 February 1573, the siege was led by the Duke of Anjou (the future Henry III). Political considerations following the duke's election to the throne of Poland in May 1573 resulted in negotiations, culminating on 24 June 1573, that lifted the siege on 6 July 1573. The Edict of Boulogne signed shortly thereafter brought an end to this phase of the civil war. The siege of La Rochelle was contemporaneous with Catholic assaults on the cities of Sommières (led by Henri I de Montmorency) and Sancerre.

La Rochelle Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Louis de la Rochelle) is a Catholic church located in the city of La Rochelle, France. The cathedral has been a national monument since 1906.

Vauclair Castle, also Vauclerc Castle (French: 'Château Vauclair) was a castle built in La Rochelle, on the Atlantic coast of France, by Henry II of England in the 12th century. The castle was located in the area defined by the current Place de Verdun (formally called Place du Château). It was incorporated in the fortifications of the city built by William X of Aquitaine, father of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, in 1130. The castle consisted of four large towers connected by high walls. It was demolished at the request of Charles V of France between 1372 and 1375, after the Siege of La Rochelle (1224), and its stones were used to build a new fortification wall at Le Gabut.The name Vauclair comes from the Latin valde clarum (greatly light, luminous or white), as it was built in the white calcerous sandstone of the region.

The Muséum d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle is a natural history museum located in the city of La Rochelle, France. The museum was reopened after a major renovation in 2007. It displays about 10,000 artifacts from naturalists and ethnographers since the 18th century.

The Jardin des plantes de La Rochelle is a small botanical garden located behind the natural history museum at 28 rue Albert Ier, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is open daily without charge. The garden was formerly owned by the Jesuits. In 1808 it became a municipal botanical garden as extension of the former Hôtel Jouin de la Tremblaye, but was quickly turned into a park. A new botanical garden has recently been established on the site, which now contains a collection of local plants, as well as species from China, North Africa, and North America.

The Orbigny-Bernon Museum (French: Musée d'Orbigny-Bernon, [myze dɔʁbiɲi bɛʁnɔ̃]) is a history museum in the French city of La Rochelle. It was founded in 1917, and contains collections relating to the history of La Rochelle, as well as an important collection of porcelains of the city. A floor is also dedicated to Far Eastern art, with the collection of the French diplomat Baron Charles de Chassiron.It is now permanently closed.

The siege of La Rochelle (French: Le Siège de La Rochelle, or sometimes Le Grand Siège de La Rochelle) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants in France, and ended with a complete victory for King Louis XIII and the Catholics.

Aquarium de La Rochelle is a family-owned public aquarium in La Rochelle, France. It has a surface area of over 8,445 m2 (90,901 sq ft) with 3 million litres of seawater. It has 73 display aquaria and 150 quarantine aquaria exhibiting more than 12,000 animals of 600 different species. It has an average of 800,000 visitors per year.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes (Latin: Dioecesis Rupellensis et Santonensis; French: Diocèse de La Rochelle et Saintes) is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the département of Charente-Maritime and the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The bishop is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Poitiers. The episcopal seat is in La Rochelle Cathedral. Saintes Cathedral is a co-cathedral.