Coordinates: 45°37′N 1°02′W / 45.62, -1.03

Commune of Royan
Location
Administration
Country	France
Region	Poitou-Charentes
Department	Charente-Maritime
Arrondissement	Rochefort
Intercommunality	Pays Royannais
Mayor	Henri Le Gueut (2006-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	0 m–35 m (avg. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Poitou-Charentes is an administrative region in central western France comprising four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River. The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The arrondissement of Rochefort is an arrondissement of France located in the Charente-Maritime département, of the Poitou-Charentes The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 20)
Land area¹	19. 30 km²
Population² (1999)	17,102
- Density	886/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	17306/ 17200
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE to identify various entities including communes Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. C D E

Royan is a commune of the Charente-Maritime département in western France. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Its economy is dominated by tourism. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Four sandy coves adorn the coast.

Geography

Royan is on the Atlantic coast, near the mouth of the Gironde Estuary. The Gironde is a navigable Estuary (often falsely referred to as a River) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne Three islands are nearby: Île de Ré, Île d'Oléron and Île-d'Aix. Île de Ré (formerly also Île de Rhé; in English Isle of Rhé) is an Island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, Île d'Oléron (English Island of Oleron) is an Island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort) on the southern Île-d'Aix is a small Island in the Atlantic, off the west coast of France.

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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

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). Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Pointe de Grave is the Northernmost tip of the Médoc Peninsula and marks the Northern end of the pine-clad sandy Landes coastline of Western France These constitued one of the Atlantic "pockets" which the Germans held on to grimly well after the liberation of the rest of France. In the early hours of 5 January 1945, planes of the Royal Air Force, having been told that nobody was left in Royan but Germans and collaborators, in two raids bombed the centre of Royan out of existence. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar This appalling raid is usually attributed to the Free French Forces General Larminat. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces

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. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote 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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces American B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft carried out aerial bombing missions, including extensive and pioneering use of napalm, finishing the destruction of 5 January. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Napalm is the name given to any of a number of Flammable Liquids used in Warfare often jellied Gasoline.

According to Edmund Blandford, Fatal Decisions, . . WW2, Airlife, Shrewsbury, 1999, page 167-8, the bombing in 1945 was totally needless and owing to a translation delay: - . . the "allies" (RAF) bombed flat the small French town of Royan . . despite the fact all the Germans had already left. Even if they had not, they could have been left there until the war was over or they realised the game was "up" . . January 1945. Night raid (why - the Allies had air superiority). 300 bombers. 1600 tonnes of bombs, more than those dropped on Cologne in 1942. More than 3000 French civilians were in the town, of which half were killed or injured.

Blandford writes, There was a Free French commander with the US sixth army outside Royan, who was not informed until too late. "The message was in French and the American signalman could not understand it. It took four hours to get it translated",

Royan today

Notre-Dame of Royan

The town was rebuilt in the 1950s, as part of an urbanisation programme and is very representative of the modernist architecture of the time.

A pleasant resort, known also for its casinos and hotels, Royan has a typical Atlantic climate. It is particularly favoured by families with young children because of the safe beaches, several in attractive coves (conches)with beach cafes.

Twin towns

• Balingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Gosport, Hampshire, United Kingdom
• Nafplion (Ναύπλιο), Peloponnese, Greece

Miscellaneous

Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States" was one of the many bombardiers that attacked Royan during World War Two. Balingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, capital of the district of Zollernalbkreis. Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states ( Bundesländer) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. History The Rowner area of the peninsula was known to have been settled in Saxon times mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles as Rughenor (Rough bank or slope Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Nafplion (Ναύπλιο in the Peloponnese in Greece, is a seaport town that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία

Royan attracts many foreign language students due to its local language school, le CAREL (Centre Audiovisuel de Royan pour l'Étude des Langues).

Royan was the birthplace of:

• Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts, (ca 1558–1628), merchant, explorer and colonizer
• Eugène Pelletan (1813–84), writer, journalist and politician

External links

• Official website (French)
• Tourist office website
• “The little Royan War”
• A book about the church of Royan [1]