Blaye (France)

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  • Place
| מספר מערכת 987007530811805171
Information for Authority record
Name (Hebrew)
בלאי (צרפת)
Name (Latin)
Blaye (France)
Other forms of name
Blaye-et-Sainte-Luce (France)
nnaa Blaye-et-Sainte-Luce
Coordinates
-0.662222222 -0.662222222 45.12777778 45.12777778 (gooearth )
W0004000 W0004000 N0450800 N0450800 (geonames )
Associated country
France
MARC
MARC
Other Identifiers
VIAF: 168353422
Wikidata: Q202562
Library of congress: n 92066526
Sources of Information
  • Sebileau, B. Nous étions trois marins de Blaye, 1991:
  • Dict. des communes de France, 1984
  • BGN France, 1964
  • LC data base, 6-26-92
Wikipedia description:

Blaye (French: [blaj] ; Occitan: Blaia pronounced [ˈblajɔ]) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordeaux or further south, to Spain and Portugal. Fortified since antiquity, this eminently strategic site located on the bank of a large river, was modernized at the end of the 17th century, thanks to Vauban. In 1685, the Commissaire general des fortifications of Louis XIV proposed the construction of a real lock on the Gironde in order to "take control of the river" and to hold Bordeaux in case of a revolt. It is then that the citadel of Blaye was built, constituting the major element of the estuary control system. Dominating the urban landscape, this imposing building has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, as part of a group of structures engineered by Vauban, in testimony to their global influence on military architecture and planning over the next few centuries.

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