Information About

Oleron




Île d'Oléron (English: '''Island of Oleron''') is an Island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort ), on the southern side of the Pertuis D'Antioche strait. It is the second largest French island after Corsica (not counting French overseas possessions).


HISTORY

In the seventh and eighth century the island, along with , formed the ''Vacetae Insulae'' or Vacetian Islands, according to the '' Cosmographia ''.Collins, 214. Vaceti being another name for the Vascones , the reference is evidence to Basque (Gascon) settlement or control of the islands by that date.

It was at Oléron in about . In 1306 , Edward I Of England granted the island to his son, Edward II , as part of the duchy of Aquitaine .

On March 20th 1586, the Island is taken by Agrippa D'Aubigne .


ADMINISTRATION


Administratively, the island belongs to the Charente-Maritime '' Département '', in the Poitou-Charentes '' Région ''. The island is divided into 8 Communes :


The island has about 19,000 inhabitants.


TRANSPORTATION


Since 1966 , the island has been connected to the mainland by a road Bridge . With a length of 3027 m, it is the longest bridge in France. It has been toll-free since 1991 .


SOURCES

  • Collins, Roger. "The ''Vaccaei'', the ''Vaceti'', and the rise of ''Vasconia''." ''Studia Historica VI''. Salamanca, 1988. Reprinted in Roger Collins, ''Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum, 1992. ISBN 0 86078 308 1.



EXTERNAL LINKS





NOTES