Set in Loire-Atlantique at the gateway to the Pays de Retz, Port-Saint-Père extends over 32 km² and has about 3,000 inhabitants. A commune with a millennia-old history.
Set in Loire-Atlantique, within the Pays de la Loire region and at the gateway to the Pays de Retz, the commune of Port-Saint-Père extends over 32 square kilometres and has about 3,000 inhabitants.
Its location, equidistant between Nantes and the Côte de Jade, gives it a very enviable geographical position in western France. In terms of transport, 30 minutes are enough to reach the Nantes TGV station, placing Paris 2h30 from Port-Saint-Père. The Nantes-Atlantique International Airport, reached in barely 15 minutes, places Port-Saint-Père close to all the great European capitals.
Port-Saint-Père has been a member of the Pornic Agglo Pays de Retz agglomeration community since its creation in January 2017.
The history of the commune is much older. An organised life in the Neolithic era is attested by the discovery, at the beginning of the 20th century, of flint axes. Several archaeological discoveries at the end of the 19th century, dated to the Bronze Age, bore witness to the development of a local prehistoric community organisation.
It was without doubt its navigable waterways, foremost among them the Acheneau, that in those distant times led it to welcome our ancestors. In Roman times, Port-Saint-Père asserted its strategic importance by allowing the Roman road linking Nantes to the Atlantic Ocean to cross the Acheneau on its territory.
To deepen your knowledge of the history of Portu Sancti Petri, known by that name from the 12th century, you may consult the excellent work "C'était la clé de tout le Pays de Retz — Regards historiques sur Port-Saint-Père" written by Jean-François Carraës.