Croisic

Croisic is a common French, located in the department of Loire-Atlantique and the administrative area Pays of the Loire, in the south-east of the historical Brittany. Its name in Breton is Ar Groazig .

Its inhabitants is called the Croisicais and Croisicaises .

Croisic, occupies the peninsula located at the Western end of the peninsula guérandaise, in the south of the Traict. The southern part particularly rock is called the Wild Côte.

Principal activities: fishing, Shellfish farming, Tourism.

Geography

Located on the littoral of the Loire-Atlantique, with a score of kilometers in the North-West of the estuary of the Loire. Croisic, Batz-on-Sea and Pouliguen are held on old rock small islands connected to the continent by a silt which formed the dune Baule. Just opposite the port, to a few tens of meters to the stroke, PEN-Bron was also connected to the continent by the silts which formed the dune which starts from Turballe. These two sand belts thus isolated a marine zone which thus became calmer and which into mudhole, arranged for more than thousand years in saline Marais has been thus transformed. Rock coasts, dunes, mudholes and marshes thus constitute the very varied landscapes which one meets in Croisic.

History

Croisic is a small town, of very old origin, in which one wanted to find one of the Breton ports indicated by Ptolémée. As of the middle of the 5th century, Croisic became a preferred station of the sailors Saxons. Several times they beat the Romains and when, beaten themselves, they were seen forced to withdraw itself, it was never for a long time, because their compatriots ran of north to the rescue: the position offering too many advantages to be neglected by these skilful sailors.

Before the establishment of the large military ports of Brittany, Croisic had a true importance. It armed with strong ships, and at all the times of the history of the Duché of Brittany, one finds his name advantageously. The fidelity of its inhabitants to the dukes initially, then with the kings de France, heirs to the dukes, remained so complete that considerable privileges were assured for him. Nicolas Bouchart, admiral de Bretagne, holding for Jean de Montfort, strengthened the city and build a castle in there 1355. It repaired the evil thus that Louis of Spain, in favor of Charles of Blois, had made with the port thirteen years before.

The duke François II armed a fleet in Croisic, and granted to the inhabitants several privileges of which they were grateful. Not only they made raise to the army of Charles VIII the seat of Nantes, but still they contributed to take again the town of Vannes, removed by the French. Later, the union of the Brittany and the France having been consumed, Croisicais did not haggle over their devotion to the new sovereign. They were occupied with heat of the armaments necessary to repress the incursions of the English on the Breton shores. Four their ships obtained the honor of the day when so unfortunately the too impetuous Portzmoguer (Primauguet) perishes and where was destroyed the famous vessel Cordelière , built by the queen Anne of Brittany (1513).

“On April 29th 1557, known as Ogée, the inhabitants of Croisic wrote to the duke Stamps, governor of Brittany, to teach him that they had driven out the Spaniards of Belle-Île-en-Mer and taken one their boats, where it had been sugar and olives, and to announce to him that they preserved four sugar loafs to him and a barrel of olives coming from this catch. ”

Until 1597, Croisic remained with the row of the strongest Breton places; but at that time Henri IV, victorious of the League, completed to pacify the Nantes county. The captain Tremblaye besieged and reduced the city, of which he demolishes the fortifications and the castle. On this occasion emerges a reminiscence of the famous episode of the seat of Calais by Edouard III of England. The captain had imposed on Croisic a ransom of thirty thousand ecus, summons considerable. One vainly sought to satisfy the winner; then twenty-two notable inhabitants, wishing to avoid at their city the continuation of the reprisals exerted by the troops offered themselves as an hostage. The poor people did not expect to be so badly rewarded for their beautiful action… Either for lack of resources, or for very other causes, their fellow-citizens left them in prison. With large pains, and after many petitions, could they obtain that the ransom whose their person answered barrel distributed on the whole parish!

One of the last feats of arms concerning Croisic occurred, the shortly after the Bataille of the Cardinals on November 21st 1759. The Admiral de Conflans, “ by an operation without excuses as without precedents in the French navy vessel and its crew were intact , made cut the cables of the Sun-Royal and failed themselves the entry of the port around seven hours of the morning ”. the Hero , completely disabled, also came to make coast with this same port. The epilog of the terrible combat was to be lamentable. The French marshal ordered to burn his vessel, though it is necessary to believe that the Sun-Royal could be saved. This order was carried out, but the Britanniques “wanted to have their share in the fire”, and two days after, on November 24th, five enemy Chaloupe S burned the Hero . This still occurred under the eyes of Conflans! …

Approximately fifteen days are passed, and the British admiral warns himself that it must send to withdraw the guns of the burnt vessels. Consequently, he addresses to Croisicais a bearing ultimatum “ that if one tried to be opposed to it shrinking of the guns, he would bombard the city and would reduce it in ashes ”. But to sir Edward Hawke did not have any more business with Mr. de Conflans. Croisicais, far from showing itself frightened by its threats, refused to let remove the parts. Irritated, the British embossèrent and opened fire. During three days, the fields were furrowed by balls. A bomb fell into the medium from Croisic, in front of the principal door of the church. The inhabitants did not persevere about it less in their patriotic resolution, and the attackers had to give up new trophies of a victory of which they had already so many evidence. A long time, one worked with the extraction of artillery and the remains of the two buildings. A bold plunger, named Corron, or Gotton, born in Croisic, and of which, one said, “fortune was at the bottom of water”, rendered immense services in this circumstance…

Thus Croisic, either while being defended, or by tearing off with the enemies our wrecks, was worthy of its antique reputation, and the letters patent which had been granted to him, in 1618, by Louis XIII; to reward “ the zeal for Croisicais to be defended, with their expenses and costs, the territory, we exempt them of any pay, impault and subsidies… ”

At the XIXe century Croisic had a very pretty small port, very merry, very laughing, very animated by a credit to and from of ships coasters and small fishing boats, especially at the time of the passage of sardine. The salt-water Marshes and the sea bathings, the very attended latter, maintain prosperity the city. The middle-class of the surroundings, Nantes in particular, benefits from the arrival of the train to go down in the young seaside resort.

Etymology

The name of the city would come from Breton the rear groazig where rear corresponds to “” or “it” and where the termination - ig is a diminutive (like “- ette” in French).

One finds several explanations for the term groaz . It could mean “cross”, literally Croisic would be then “the small cross”.

However the best of the etymologies suggested seems to be that which derives from the word groaz , “strike”. Croisic would thus mean, literally, the place of the small strike, name extremely well in connection with its situation: the port which gives on the traict, very sandy, having to fear the accumulation of marine dunes.

Heraldic

Administration

Demography

Economy

  • Fishing port managed by the Chamber of commerce and industry of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. First wearing of France for pink fishing with shrimp. The hulls are another of the specialities.

Operations of urbanization of the center of the Peninsula

In 2005-2006 took place an operation of dynamization of the center of the island, by the construction of several allotments of individual habitats. The objective was to allow the families, in particular the young people, to be able to anchor itself in the peninsula, instead of having to go to live with Saint Nazaire or Nantes.

Ecology

The Traict of Croisic, wetland in the north of Croisic, commune at the cities of Croisic, Batz-on-Sea, Guérande (amongst other things), is a closed pseudo zone, or only a narrow passage between the port of Croisic and the point of PEN-Bron allows the passage of the sea.

This zone of Traict makes it possible salt water to deeply return in the grounds, on several tens of kilometers, and to feed the saline Marais in particular. It is also and especially a very rich zone ecologically, where the Man, by the saline Marais, contributes to the maintenance of this fragile ecosystem. Traict is classified besides zone Natura 2000, network European which " aims to maintain the species and the habitats of Community interest in a good state of conservation ".

Personalities related to the commune

Some photographs

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