La Roche-sur-Yon, today the economic and commercial centre of Vendée, owes its development to Napoleon Bonaparte who decided to create a new town there in 1804.
La Roche-sur-Yon and Napoleon Bonaparte
The city developed under the impetus of Napoleon Bonaparte who decided to create a new city in 1804 to develop the old town. It was renamed Napoléon several times between the First Empire and 1870 before finally regaining its name. The aim was to turn the page after the dark hours of the Revolution and the Vendée counter-revolution by also creating a new capital in Vendée.
Many structural buildings for the city were built following this decision and continued until around 1850:
- the town hall;
- the hospital which is now the Departmental hotel;
- the former courthouse transformed into a music conservatory,
- the college;
- the prefecture;
- the barracks built on the site of the old castle and which house the current administrative city;
- the stud farm and the stud farm and the theater.
The "Napoleon circuit" allows you to freely discover the Napoleonic legacy in La Roche-sur-Yon.