Blaye

Blaye (in Poitevin-saintongeais Bllaye , in Occitan Blaia ) is a common French, located in the department of the the Gironde and the area Aquitaine.

Geography

Located on the Estuary of the Gironde in the north-Gironde, and belonged to the High Gironde, access by the French Highway A10 left

History

César, in the War of Gaules , quotes a Oppidum Gallic which it names Blavia Santorum and which is undoubtedly the current city of Blaye, located on a rock headland which dominates the the Gironde. The name of Blavia, that historians of the 19th century did bring closer to the Latin Belli Via (road of the wars?), thus undoubtedly an origin Gaulois E has; one can bring it closer to the verb “to clear”, which suggests that as of its origins Blaye has a harbor vocation. The Romains settle there and make a strengthened place of it.

In 625, a first castle is built by the Mérovingiens, which make of Blaye a royal residence intermittently. The Lord of most famous Blaye, in the centuries which will follow, will be Roland the Valiant knight, the nephew of Charlemagne, from which the song éponyme teaches us that it is buried in Blaye, in the Saint-Romain church now destroyed (one will venerate there his tomb, reality or legendary, until the wars of religion).

In 848, the city is plundered by the chief Viking Hasting who goes up then the Garonne.

During the the Middle Ages, the Seigneurie of Blaye is entrusted to a family, Rudel, whose most famous representative is Jaufré Rudel, Troubadour with which its love for the princess of Tripoli inspired by the famous Poème S. Edmond Rostand made of him the hero of its drama the remote Princess . Blaye is then one of the most famous stages on the road of Compostelle: there does not exist indeed of bridge on the the Garonne, and the only means of joining Bordeaux and of entering in Gascogne is to pass the the Gironde in boat. The passage of a great number of pilgrims is at the origin of the development of the hospital which is still today on the road of Saintes.

During the War One hundred Year old, Blaye, military key of the defense of Aquitaine, are several times taken and recovery by the belligerents. It ends up being definitively conquered by the French in 1452, after a seat carried out by the troops raised by the future Louis XI. The catch of Blaye opened the door of Aquitaine to the French, victorious troops the following year with Castillon.

After one short period of peace, during which prosperity returns thanks to the port activity and to the trade of the wine, Blaye and its area are again devastated at the 16th century by the wars of religion. The 17th century sees the return of peace. The governorship is entrusted by it to the duke of Saint-Simon, favorite of Louis XIII. It is there that will be born his/her son, the author of famous the Mémoires .

At the 17th century always, Vauban will supervise there the rebuilding of the famous citadel, visited each year by: 500000 visitors. This work was at the origin of the destruction of the Carolingian church of Saint-Romain, and the houses of the suburbs too located close to the ramparts.

The wars of the Revolution and the First Empire will be the occasion, in the last weeks of the reign of Napoleon, of the single seat supported by the Citadelle of Vauban. The seat will be raised at the time of the abdication of the Emperor. Start then for Blaye and Blayais a new era of prosperity; the city is particularly marked by the work started by the sub-prefect Haussmann, future prefect of Paris of Napoleon III. The rise of the vine is accompanied by the construction of many residences in the area. It is stopped in the last years of the 19th century by the crisis of the Phylloxéra.

Meanwhile, Blaye lost its vocation of door of Bordeaux since construction, in this city, under the Empire, of the first bridge on the the Garonne. The port activity then starts to decrease.

August 20th 1997 a silo of Céréale S exploded, making 11 dead. This drama led the authorities to reinforce the security standards in the grain silos.

Administration

Demography

Economy

The commune has a delegation of the Chamber of commerce and industry of Bordeaux.

Places and monuments

Blaye is also known for its Vignoble (Vignoble of Blaye) and its AOC Viticole (First-coast-with-Blaye).

the Citadelle of Blaye is built by Vauban 1685 with 1689, classified with the historic buildings and member of the Réseau of the major sites of Vauban. The citadel shelters the Château of Rudel, first once destroyed at the 11th century then rebuilt at the 12th century. It is currently not worth visiting, and is not the subject for the moment not of restoration.