Tours du Port de la Rochelle, Pont de Ré and other landmarks v0.1
La Rochelle is a city on the central west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With 75,735 inhabitants in 2017, La Rochelle is the most populated commune in the department and ranks fifth in the New Aquitaine region.
The city traces its origins to the Gallo-Roman period, attested by the remains of important salt marshes and villas. The Dukes of Aquitaine granted it a charter as a free port in 1130. With the opening of the English market following the second marriage of Alienor d’Aquitaine in 1152, the presence of the Knights Templar and the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem quickly made this small town the largest port on the Atlantic.
To this day, the city still possesses a rich historical fabric, including the Saint-Nicholas tower, and an urban heritage. The capital of Aunis, it has become the most important coastal city between the Loire and Gironde estuaries. La Rochelle’s urban activities are many in number and strongly differentiated, being a city with port and industrial functions that are still important, but also including a predominantly administrative and tertiary sector that is reinforced by the university and a rapidly developing tourism industry. In the early 21st century, the city has consistently been ranked among France’s most liveable cities.
This pack does not contain a full photogrammetry extract of the city but rather focuses on a few emblematic or massive buildings to keep acceptable size and performances for lower configurations.
It contains the following mods:
-Tours du Port de la Rochelle: The Tour Saint Nicolas, the Tour de la Lanterne and the Tour de la Chaîne are the three medieval towers guarding the port in La Rochelle. In 1879 the French government classified it as a Monument historique. The Tour Saint Nicolas was named after the patron saint of sailors. This tower along with the Tour de la Chaîne stood at the entryway to the Port of La Rochelle. At times throughout history a chain was stretched between the two buildings to stop ships from entering. the building was also used as a prison throughout its history. They are part of the vestiges of the medieval walls of the 14th century razed by Richelieu in 1628 during the siege of the city.
-The Pont de Ré was opened to traffic on May 19 , 1988. The bridge connects the island of Ré to the mainland by a curve of 2,926.5 meters in length culminating at 42 meters above the sea. KNOWN ISSUE: cars still follow the trajectory of the default bridge.
-Cathédrale Saint-Louis: The Diocese of La Rochelle was created in 1648 but the first stone of the new cathedral was not laid until 1742, by which time the architect who drew up the plans, Jacques Gabriel, was dead; the work was supervised, from a distance, by his son Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Although still not complete, it was consecrated anyway in 1784. The structure is a rather bare Neo-Classical one. The cupola has paintings by William Bouguereau, a native of the city.
-Gare de La Rochelle: the train station building, which includes a 45-metre-tall clock tower, was built in 1922 by Pierre Esquié. The railway station is well known for the “Danseurs au ballon” painted on the ceiling by Emile Sourice and Nicus Georget, two local artists. The station was renovated by Franck Beck and Luc Mouret in the early 1990s for the arrival of the TGV Atlantique.
-Eglise Saint-Sauveur: this church was rebuilt several times over a primitive church from the 12th century. Located quai Maubec and near the Old Port , it is placed under the patronage of the Holy Savior. The church was completely renovated between 1995 and 2008.
-Musée Maritime: The Maritime Museum of La Rochelle is a museum afloat, located in the old trawler basin of the Old Port. Since april 2015, the museum has been completed by a “land” section installed behind the Espace Encan in small pavilions covered with “chips” made of colored fabrics. Its collection includes, among other things, eight ships , six of which are classified as historical monuments.
-Marché de la Rochelle: An emblematic building of the historic city center, the 19th century market halls host the market every day. The covered market was built on the site of the Grande Boucherie, the city’s first meat market, built in 1443. This first edible market was built to plans by the architect Brossard. Built in Charentes stone, dated on the facade “1834”, it is covered with a large wooden frame. It opened to the public in 1835.
-Stade Marcel Deflandre: built by Emile Sourcile, this is the home ground of rugby union team Stade Rochelais of the Top 14 who have played there since it was opened in 1926. It has undergone significant redevelopment since 1995 and the present capacity is 16,000. The stadium is named after Marcel Deflandre, a president of the club who was executed in 1944 during the Second World War.
These mods are completed by a silos mode for the new harbor between the city and the Pont de Ré.
GPS Coordinates: 46.156507402738676, -1.1534433092798844
