Rezé (, Gallo: Rezae) is a commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb of Nantes. It was also called Ratiate in the Middle Ages and Rezay in the High Middle Ages.

History

Rezé dates back to the Roman era, when it was known as Portus Ratiatus (port of Rezé) and Ratiatum Pictonum Portus (Picton port of Rezé). Being populated by the Ambilatres tribe, whose location on the south bank of the lower Loire is not established with certainty, between Armorica and Celtica Gaul. Rezé was an important port on the south shore of the Loire, established opposite the port of Namnetes, located north of the Loire, Nantes - Contigwic of its Gaulish name - and it is experiencing rapid development, which suggests a strong power of attraction, a place for meetings and trade between the various Celtic tribes of the region (Veneti, Namnetes, Ambilatres, Andecavis and of course Pictones). In 510 a Latin Catholic Diocese of Rezé was established on territory split off from the Diocese of Poitiers. It was suppressed 851, its territory being reassigned to the nearby then Diocese of Nantes. No incumbents or other details available. It has ruins of Gallo-Roman settlement and a priory of Saint Lucien. In feudal times, it was the capital of Pays de Retz which means “Land of Rezé” within the Duchy of Brittany, after the invasion of the Bretons.

Geography

The commune is surrounded by the communes of Nantes, Vertou, Les Sorinières, Pont-Saint-Martin and Bouguenais. It is limited north by the Loire, east by the Sèvre Nantaise and the Ilette, west by the Jaguère and south by the boulevard périphérique of Nantes. Rezé-Pont-Rousseau station has rail connections to Pornic, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Nantes.

Monuments

Municipal administration

Since the municipal elections of 1977, the communal council has always been filled in the first round of voting.

Population

International relations

Rezé is twinned with: