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Home > Travel France > France Destinations > Rochefort
Rochefort
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and comprises various overseas islands and territories which are located in other regions. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. At 674,843 square kilometers, France is the world's 40th-largest country after Myanmar. France is a member of The European Union and Paris is the capital of this nation. The sole official language of France is French. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
Rochefort is a community in western France, a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a sous-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department. The town's non-official name is Rochefort-sur-Mer but the last part of the name is generally omitted. The city’s population as per the 1999 census was 25,797 and the density was 1,175 per square kilometers. In December 1665 the city was chosen by Jean-Baptiste Colbert as a place of refuge, defense and supply for the French navy. Its military harbour was fortified by Louis XIV's commissary of fortifications Vauban.
An additional infrastructure of early Rochefort from 1766 was its bagne, a high-security penal colony concerning hard labour. Bagnes were then common fixtures in military harbours and naval bases, such as Toulon or Brest, because they provided free labor. In the 20th century, the city remained mainly a garrison town. The tourist industry, which had long existed due to the town's spa, gained prominence in the 1990s.
A city known for its historic myths and traditions, scenic beauty, luxurious hotels and cottages, Rochefort is one of the favorite holiday destinations for most of the vacation lovers.
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