Royan

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This article is about the town in France. For the town in Iran, see Royan, Iran.

Administration
Commune of Royan
Location
Longitude	01°01'28" W
Latitude	45°37'43" N
Country	France
Région	Poitou-Charentes
Département	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Rochefort
Canton	Divided into 2 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Royannais
Mayor	Henri Le Gueut (2006-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	0 m–35 m (avg. 20)
Land area¹	19.30 km²
Population² (1999)	17,102
- Density (1999)	886/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	17306/ 17200
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Royan is a small town and commune of the Charente-Maritime département, in Western France.

Its economy is dominated by tourism. Four sandy coves adorn the coast.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Royan today
4 Sister Cities
5 Miscellaneous
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Royan is on the Atlantic coast, near the mouth of the Gironde Estuary. Three islands are nearby: Île de Ré, Île d'Oléron and Île-d'Aix.

[edit] History

Royan's history as a resort dates from the later 19th century. From the 1890s to the Second World War it was both fashionable and popular, especially after the introduction of holidays with pay in France, in 1935.

During the Second World War, two German fortresses defended the Gironde Estuary: Gironde Mündung Nord (or Royan) and Gironde Mündung Süd (or La Pointe de Grave). The Allied operation, which was directed against the German forces on Île d'Oléron and at the mouth of the Gironde River, began with a general naval bombardment at 0750 on 15 April 1945, some 10 months after D-Day. For five days the US naval task force assisted the French ground forces with naval bombardment and aerial reconnaissance in the assault on Royan and the Pointe de Grave area at the mouth of the Gironde. American B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft carried out aerial bombing missions. During this heavy bombardment by Allied forces, the centre of the town was almost entirely destroyed.