La Roche-sur-Yon

Square Napoléon and Saint-Louis Church

Coat of arms

La Roche-sur-Yon

Location within Pays de la Loire region

La Roche-sur-Yon

Coordinates: 46°40′14″N 1°25′34″W / 46.6705°N 1.426°WCoordinates: 46°40′14″N 1°25′34″W / 46.6705°N 1.426°W

Country

La Roche-sur-Yon-Nord and La Roche-sur-Yon-Sud

Intercommunality

Pays yonnais

Government

• Mayor (2008–2012)

Pierre Regnault

Area¹

87.52 km² (33.79 sq mi)

Population (2006)²

54,116

• Density

620/km² (1,600/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

85191 / 85000

Elevation

32–94 m (105–308 ft)
(avg. 74 m or 243 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

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.

Administration

The Communauté d'agglomération "La Roche-sur-Yon Agglomération" contains 15 communes:

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, covering 12 communes, with a total population of 70,709.

The canton of La Roche-sur-Yon-Nord (North) is made of part of La Roche-sur-Yon and of the communes of Mouilleron-le-Captif and Venansault (29,789) (42.2%);
The canton of the La Roche-sur-Yon-Sud (South) is made of part of Roche-sur-Yon and of the communes of Aubigny, Chaillé-sous-les-Ormeaux, La Chaize-le-Vicomte, Les Clouzeaux, Fougeré, Nesmy, Saint-Florent-des-Bois, Le Tablier and Thorigny (40,920) (57.9%).

Cantons: seat of 2 cantons (12 communes, 70,709 inhabitants)
Population with double accounts (1999): 52,947 inhabitants
Population without double accounts (1999): 49,262 inhabitants
Intercommunality (2004): Communauté d'agglomération 79,665 inhabitants

Main sights

Saint-Louis church and Napoléon square
Napoléon's statue (1854)
Kiosk on Napoléon square
Saint-Louis church
Saint-Louis church
Saint-Louis church organ
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.

Sports

In 2014 La Roche-sur-yon hosted the 2014 French championship of table tennis ^[2]

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.