La Roche-sur-Yon

La Roche-sur-Yon began as a small town beside the Yon. After the wars of the Vendée, Napoleon chose it as the site of a new administrative centre for the troubled region. In 1804 he ordered the seat of the department transferred from Fontenay-le-Comte and a new town laid out on the plateau beside the old settlement. Its planned streets and public buildings gave La Roche a new importance.