[edit] History

Originally founded as a town by the Celtic tribe named Namneti around 70 BCE, it was conquered by Julius Caesar in 56 BCE and named Portus Namnetus. Christianised in the 3rd century CE, Nantes was successively invaded by the Saxons (around 285), the Franks (around 500), the Britons (in the 6th and 7th centuries) and the Normans (in 843). In 937, Alain Barbe-Torte, grandson of the last king of Brittany who was expelled by the Normans, drove them out and founded the duchy of Brittany.

When the duchy of Brittany was annexed by the kingdom of France in 1532, Nantes kept the parliament of Brittany for a few years, before it was moved to Rennes. In 1598, King Henry IV of France signed the Edict of Nantes here, which granted Protestants rights to their religion.

During the 18th century, prior to abolition of slavery, Nantes was the slave trade capital of France. This kind of trade led Nantes to become the first port in France and a wealthy city. When the French Revolution broke out, Nantes chose to be part of it, although the whole surrounding region soon degenerated into an open civil war against the new republic. The excesses of the revolution led to thousands of summary executions, mainly by drowning in the Loire river. In the 19th century, Nantes became an industrial city. The first public transport anywhere may have been the omnibus service initiated in Nantes in 1826. It was soon imitated in Paris, London and New York. The first railroads were built in 1851 and many industries were created.

In 1940, the city was occupied by German troops. In 1941, the murder of a German officer, Lt. Col. Fritz Hotz, caused the retaliatory execution of 48 hostages. In 1943, the city was bombed twice by British and American airplanes. Nantes was freed by the Americans in 1944. After World War II, the city slowly lost its industrial base. The harbour was moved to the very mouth of the Loire river, in Saint-Nazaire. It was only in the last 15 years of the 20th century that the city was able to move to a more modern economy.

[edit] Main sights

Cathedral Saint-Peter Saint-Paul [1],[2]
Passage Pommeraye
the new Palais de Justice, on the Île de Nantes, built in 2000, designed by Jean Nouvel
the Museum and the native house of Jules Verne, the pioneer science fiction writer
Musée des Beaux-arts (Arts museum)
La Tour LU (LU Tower) - a picturesque tower guarding the entrance of a former Lefevre-Utile biscuit factory

[edit] Geography

The city has a total area of 65.19 km² (25.18 mi²). Its coordinates are 47°14' N, 1°35' W.

Nantes is located on the banks of the Loire river, at the confluence of the Erdre and the Sèvre Nantaise, near the river's mouth, 55 km (35 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean. The city was built in a place where many branches of the Loire river created several islands, but most of those branches were filled in at the beginning of the 20th century (and the confluence with the Erdre river diverted and covered) due to the increasing car traffic.

Nantes is divided into 11 neighborhoods, 9 on the right bank of the Loire, 1 on the left bank and 1 on the Ile-de-Nantes island.

Nantes is bordered by the cities of Basse-Goulaine, Bouguenais, Carquefou, La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, Couëron, Indre, La Montagne, Orvault, Rezé, Saint-Herblain, Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire, Saint-Jean de Boiseau, Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire and Vertou.

[edit] Demographics

As of the 1999 census, there were 270,251 inhabitants in the city (commune) of Nantes. The population density was 4260/km². There were 711,120 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire urbaine).

As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city of Nantes reached 276,200 inhabitants.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Image:Cathedral nantes.jpg

Formerly the capital of Brittany, Nantes was separated from the region by the Vichy government in June 1941. Although the city has been part of the Pays de la Loire région since 1971, the feeling that Nantes belongs to Brittany is still solid nowadays. For cultural and political reasons, many people still identify with Brittany.

The local football team is FC Nantes Atlantique.

The Celtic band Tri Yann was originally known as Tri Yann an Naoned (the three Johns from Nantes).

Nantes's primary sister cities are the ports of Jacksonville, Florida and Seattle, Washington.

[edit] Colleges and universities

École Centrale de Nantes
Audencia Nantes - École de Management (former École Supérieure de Commerce Nantes)
École Polytechnique de l'Université de Nantes
École des Mines de Nantes
The Université de Nantes was created in 1460, but moved to Rennes in 1735. It was re-opened in 1962 only.
École d'Architecture de Nantes opened during the 70s

[edit] Transport

[edit] Mass transit

The omnibus, the first organized public transit system within a city, appears to have been originated in Nantes in 1826 with tramway beginning operation in 1879, this tramway system closed in 1958. The Tramway de Nantes has three lines. The first line was opened in 1985, now the largest tramway network in France. Futures line extensions are projected.

Ligne 1 : Beaujoire / François Mitterrand ; 17,9 km.
Ligne 2 : Neustrie / Orvault Grand Val ; 16,1 km
Ligne 3 : Hôtel Dieu / Sillon de Bretagne ;
Ligne 4 : Place Foch / Porte de Vertou , launched in November 2006.

Projected Lines

Ligne 5

The Nottingham Express Transit system in Nottingham, UK has trams of a similar design.

[edit] Airport

Nantes has an international airport: Nantes Atlantique Airport. Image:Tramway Nantes new model moutonnerie station.jpg

[edit] Train

Nantes lies on a number of rail lines, including TGV lines. By train, Nantes is connected via TGV to Paris, Lyon, Marseille, & Lille. In 2007, Nantes will be connected to Strasbourg & the East of France. By Corail (Classical Train), Nantes is connected at Quimper, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse. By TER (Regional Transport), you can to go Saint-Nazaire, Angers, Le Mans, La Roche sur Yon, and many other regional cities.

[edit] Famous people born in Nantes

Anne of Brittany - Aristocrat
Pierre Jacques Étienne Cambronne - Commander of the Old Guard at Waterloo
Claire Bretécher - Cartoonist
Claude Cahun (born Lucy Schwob) - Photographer and writer
Jean Graton - Cartoonist
de Villebois Mareuil - Commander of French volunteers who fought for the Boers in their Second War of Independence against the English
Julien de Lallande Poydras - Delegate to the United States House of Representatives
Suzanne Malherbe - Artist
Benoît Régent - Film Actor
Jules Verne - Writer