L'Île-d'Yeu is an island and commune (L'Île-d’Yeu) located in the
department of Vendée, in the Pays de la Loire region in western
France.
Completely insularized around 5,000 BC, the island of L'Île-d'Yeu
is located 17 km off the Vendée coast. the island concentrates on
its 23 km2 of land surface a great diversity of landscapes: long
beaches and coastal dunes fixed by softwoods; wild coast with lofty
cliffs enclosing blond sand coves; shaved grass moors where armories
shudder; hollow paths crisscrossing the ridges and along the cliffs;
grove with multiple plots where they nest sheltered from the foliage
of willows and plum trees, low houses with tiled roofs and colored
shutters.
For a long time, the first tuna port on the Atlantic
coast, L'Île-d'Yeu Island still has an active place for fishing,
landing on its docks: bars, batches, soles, turbots, sea bream, hake
and other mullet mules that are surrounded by countless crustaceans.
An island of less than 5,000 inhabitants, a quarter of whom are less
than 25 years old, L'Île-d'Yeu is a living, friendly land, deeply
marked by this call from the open sea that enchants all those who
love the sea, who once chose drop anchor in it for just a moment.
L'Île-d'Yeu
Island is part of the Ponant Islands Association.
Tourist Office 1 rue du Marché, Port-Joinville, +33 2 51 583258, fax: +33 2 51 584048, email: tourisme@ile-yeu.fr Mon.- Sat. : 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Sun. : 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
The island of Yeu appeared around 360 million years ago, towards
the end of the primary era, as a result of geological events. From
the end of Secondary (65 million years) to the Quaternary (1.9
million years), it undergoes several processes of insularization
alternated by an attachment to the continent due to the variation in
the level of the oceans.
The island is thus first attached to
the mainland by a tongue of land until about 7,000 years ago, there
remains the trace under the name of Pont d'Yeu, which today
designates a high rocky bottom. connecting the island to the
mainland. Sometimes an island, sometimes a peninsula depending on
the level of the oceans, Yeu definitely became an island during the
early Neolithic or even a little before. In the Middle Neolithic,
the sea level was lower by only 5 m, the coastline was larger in the
north of the island where the coast was lower, than in the south
where the coast was mainly formed by cliffs.
Today, about 10
km long and an average width of 4 km, its area is around 23 km2.
The main attraction of the island is none other than its
particularly rich natural environment between rocky coast, dune
coast and marshes.
We can also discover a wide variety of
sites and monuments:
Numerous megaliths (dolmens, menhirs,
cup-shaped stones), The Church of St Sauveur (11th / 12th
century), The Old Castle (14th century), The Citadel (19th century),
The Grand Phare.
The beaches are not supervised. The main
beaches are Ker-Chalon, les Vieilles, Anse des Soux.
The island of L'Île-d'Yeu appeared around
360 million years ago, towards the end of the primary era, as a
result of geological events. From the end of Secondary (65 million
years) to the Quaternary (1.9 million years), it undergoes several
insularization processes alternated by an attachment to the
continent due to the variation in the level of the oceans.
The island is thus first attached to the mainland by a strip of land
until about 7,000 years ago, there remains the trace under the name
of Pont d'Yeu, which today designates a high rocky bottom.
connecting the island to the mainland. Sometimes an island,
sometimes a peninsula depending on the level of the oceans, Yeu
definitely becomes an island during the ancient Neolithic or even a
little before. In the Middle Neolithic, the sea level was lower by
only 5 m, the coastline was larger in the north of the island where
the coast was lower, than in the south where the coast was mainly
formed by cliffs.
Today L'Île-d'Yeu is about 10 km long and
an average width of 4 km, its area is around 23 km2.
Scattered across the island are dolmens and menhirs,
which indicate settlement as early as the Stone Age. The Dolmen de
la Planche à Puare is located on the Anse des Broches, on the north
coast of the Île d’Yeu. The simple dolmen (French dolmen simple)
Dolmen des Petits Fradets (also called Maison de la Gournaise) is
located near La Gournaise on the "Route des Petits Frades" and near
the Allée couverte des Tabernaudes on the north coast.
In
Latin the Île d’Yeu was called Insula Oya. In the Middle Ages, monks
farmed the island. During the Hundred Years War, the island fell to
the English crown.
A lot of grain was grown on the island and
there were many windmills, but today only relics or renovated mills
bear witness to it, and you can see wild grain growing almost
everywhere.
Citadel
There is also a citadel on the island,
which was built in 1858–1866. During the First World War it served
as a transshipment point for coastal batteries and their ammunition.
In 1916 there were Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war there. In 1940,
125 French communists were interned in it. From 1940 to 1944 the
citadel was occupied by German soldiers. A forest was planted around
the citadel to camouflage it.
In the courtyard of the citadel
there used to be a seven meter high menhir, which was replaced by
two large windmills in the 18th century. These in turn fell victim
to the citadel. Today the courtyard is used for public events
(circus, concerts).
From World War II to today
During the
Second World War, the island L'Île-d'Yeu was occupied by the German
Wehrmacht. They built bunkers and observation posts. In November
1944 she withdrew and destroyed the large lighthouse on the island.
However, they left the bunkers with many utensils to the islanders.
After the Second World War, the Île d’Yeu was the place of exile for
Marshal Philippe Pétain, who was sentenced to death in 1945 by a
French court martial for his collaboration with the German Reich.
Charles de Gaulle converted the sentence to life imprisonment and
exile on the Île d’Yeu. Pétain died on July 23, 1951 at the age of
95. His grave is in the cemetery above Port-Joinville. You can find
it to the right of the entrance near the Perdu en mer tablet;
enveloped by shrubs about three meters high, it is not easily
visible.
In December 1999 the island L'Île-d'Yeu suffered
from the oil spill caused by the wreck of the Maltese tanker Erika.
Coat of arms
The yellow shield is divided across by a blue
ribbon of lines. A crown rests on the head of the shield. It is
framed by two fish, laid on a golden ribbon with the motto: In Altum
Lumen et Perfugium (Latin for “light and calm on the sea”, French
for Au large, la lumière et le repos).
Crossing from Port Fromentine (all year)
Reach Fromentine by
train:
The nearest SNCF train station is Nantes
Bus connection
between Nantes and Fromentine.
Reach Fromentine by car:
Motorway to Nantes (A11) or la Roche sur Yon (A87)
Then follow
the direction of Noirmoutier.
Crossing from St Gilles Croix
de Vie (April to September)
Reach St Gilles Croix de Vie by
train:
SNCF station at St Gilles Croix de Vie.
Reach St Gilles
Croix de Vie by car:
Motorway to La Roche sur Yon (A 87)
Then
follow the direction of St Gilles Croix de Vie.
Helicopter
connection
Departure from Barre de Monts (all year round)