Aunis

Coat of arms

Aunis (deep red), shown with Aquitaine (pink).

Coordinates: 46°30′N 0°30′W / 46.5°N 0.5°WCoordinates: 46°30′N 0°30′W / 46.5°N 0.5°W

Country

France

Area

• Land

1,497.16 km² (578.06 sq mi)

Population (2006)

• Total

286,872

• Density

192/km² (500/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

EDT (UTC+1)

Aunis is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name to the province.

It was a fief of the Duchy of Aquitaine. It extended to Marais Poitevin in the north, Basse Saintonge (and Niortais) in the east, and Rochefortais in the south. Aunis had an influence approximately 20–25 km into the Isle of Ré (l'Île de Ré).

The province was officially recognised during the reign of Charles V of France in 1374: "In 1374, Charles V separated La Rochelle from Saintonge to set up a provincial government, comprising the jurisdictions of Rochefort, Marennes and, for a time, Benon. It was thus that Aunis legally became a separate province."

Aunis was the smallest province in France, in terms of area. Nowadays it is a part of the Charente-Maritime département together with Saintonge.

People from Aunis were called Aunisien (masculine) or Aunisienne (feminine). The English term is Aunisian.

Aunis is mostly a rolling chalk plain, whose navigable rivers have always been important modes of communication, and from which came economic development and the urbanisation of the region.

The region is coastal, with varied seafronts and offshore islands, from which maritime activities diversified. Nowadays tourism is of great importance.

Aunis has two river borders, those of the Sèvre Niortaise in the north, and the Charente River in the south. To the west is the Atlantic Ocean and two islands, the Île de Ré and the Île d'Aix. To the east it is bordered by the valley of the Mignon River (the main left tributary of the Sèvre Niortaise), by the hills of Saintonge around Saint-Félix, and by the valleys of the Trézence and Boutonne.

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Wikipedia