Last modified: 2025-09-06 by olivier touzeau
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Flag of Pontchâteau - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 1 June 2025
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Pontchâteau (11,249 inhabitants, 5,579 ha) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.
The region has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by several megalithic monuments.
Pontchâteau takes its name from the bridge and castle built around the town during the Middle Ages. Flowing through Pont-Château, the Brivet, the last tributary of the Loire, flows into the river at the foot of the Saint-Nazaire Bridge. It was on its banks in the 11th century that residences were built under the authorization of the lords of Pont, not far from their castle. At that time, the bridge, guarded by the Baron's Castle, allowed people to cross the Brivet, and the castle served as a checkpoint during the crossing. At its foot, traders would come to store their goods. The town became a center of trade between the highlands of the plateau and the marshes of the Brière lowlands.
In the Middle Ages, Pont-Château was located on one of the routes to Santiago de Compostela. A leper colony and a chapel existed in the Madeleine Forest, about 500 meters from the current edge. Having come to preach in the region, Saint Louis Grignon de Montfort wanted to mark his visit by erecting a Calvary. He initially chose the site of "Roches-Bises," a few kilometers northwest of the village of Campbon. Due to difficulties with the Counts of Coislin, lords of the area, he had to postpone his choice to a site south of the Madeleine Forest. The work, begun in 1709, was not completed until fifteen months later. Louis XIV, perhaps misinformed, ordered its destruction. The current Calvary was built during the 19th century. It includes a Stations of the Cross with figures: a large group recalls the Ascension; grottoes represent Bethlehem and the Agony. From the artificial mound on which the Calvary itself stands, one can enjoy a complete panorama encompassing the Brière, the Bretesche, the Gâvre Forest, and the banks of the Loire. This grandiose complex is the most visited Calvary in France.
In 1856, the renovated Calvary was formally inaugurated, attended by 10,000 people. It is completed by a Scala Sancta dating from 1891.
At the end of World War II, due to the existence of the Saint-Nazaire Pocket, the German occupation continued in Pontchâteau, as in all the neighboring towns along the estuary, for another nine months (from August 1944 to May 11, 1945). The pocket's effective surrender occurred three days after Germany's capitulation.
Olivier Touzeau, 1 June 2025
The arms of Pontchâteau come from the Blain family (Brittany), barons of Pontchâteau. They are blasoned Vair, three crescent Gules.
A white flag with the coat of arms can sometimes be observed in front of the city hall: photo (date of hte photograph unknown).
Olivier Touzeau, 1 June 2025