Rochefort dates from the 17th century and was built by the order of the Louis XIV to be a naval base on the atlantic coast to thawt the British and to keep an eye on the troublesome La Rochelle.
The city built by the navy is laid out on a regular grid pattern unlike it contempories that were stuck with their medieval hertiage.
Central Park
The main square "Place Colbert"
Another view from the centre of "Place Colbert"
The main gate into the Naval Ship Yards at Rochefort.
A factory was built to house the rope and sail making. In it's time it was the longest factory building in the world.. It is still very impressive.
The view from one end...
and the view from the other end.
Not only did the Navy industrialize ship production but they also encouraged the study and practice of medicine (particularly tropical medicine) at a huge naval hosipital and research faciltiy openned in 1788.
Naval Hospital opened in 1788, now closedThere are some grand buildings in the main street...
and some in need of urgent repair...
Rochefort is built on the banks of the River Charente, a substantial French river. For a naval base you would expect an extensive dockside on the river bank. Even the German navy used Rochefort as one of their major U-Boat Submarine bases in WWII. The question is how and why would you have a naval base here, when the River Chartene looks like this at low tide...
This the River Charente directly behind the dry docks of the naval base. There would be no ship or submarine movements here for an hour or two around low tide.
This the River Charente directly behind the dry docks of the naval base. There would be no ship or submarine movements here for an hour or two around low tide.