Saintes is a commune and historic town in southwestern France, in the Charente-Maritime department of which it is a sub-prefecture, in Poitou-Charente. Its inhabitants are called Saintaises and Saintais. Saintes is the second largest city in Charente-Maritime, with 26,000 inhabitants in 2008. Its immediate surrounds form the second most populous metropolitan area in the department, with 57,000 inhabitants, the majority of which is fertile, productive fields; a significant minority for the region remains forest, its natural state.
Primarily built on the left bank of the Charente, Saintes became the first Roman capital of Aquitaine, and later, the capital of the province of Saintonge under the Ancien Régime. Following the French Revolution, it briefly became the prefecture of the department (then called Charente-Inférieure) during the territorial reorganization of 1790, until La Rochelle took its place in 1810. Even though it was but a subprefecture,[N 1] Saintes was allowed to remain the judicial center of the department. In the last third of the 19th century, Saintes was chosen as the seat of the VIIIth arrondissement of the Chemins de Fer de l’État, railways, which enabled an era of economic and demographic growth.
Today, Saintes remains the economic heart of the center of the department and it is an important transportation hub. A few major industrial business operate (in electronics, rail repair, construction of hoists). The city’s commerce and service sector is large with the headquarters of Coop Atlantique, administrative functions of state, courts, legal services, banks, schools and a hospital. Beyond this, property maintenance, retail and tourism sectors provide large numbers of jobs. Because of its noteworthy Gallo-Roman, medieval and classical heritage, Saintes is a tourist destination and a member of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History since 1990. It has several museums, a theater, cinemas, and organizes numerous festivals. A European center of musical research and practice is in its Abbaye aux Dames.
