Les Sables-d'Olonne
| Les Sables-d'Olonne | ||
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Les Sables-d'Olonne | ||
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| Motto: Advocata nostra, ora pro nobis | ||
  Les Sables-d'Olonne | ||
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Location within Pays de la Loire region  Les Sables-d'Olonne | ||
| Coordinates: 46°29′50″N 1°47′00″W / 46.4972°N 1.7833°WCoordinates: 46°29′50″N 1°47′00″W / 46.4972°N 1.7833°W | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Pays de la Loire | |
| Department | Vendée | |
| Arrondissement | Les Sables-d'Olonne | |
| Canton | Les Sables-d'Olonne | |
| Intercommunality | Olonnes | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2004–2008) | Louis Guédon | |
| Area1 | 8.83 km2 (3.41 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006)2 | 16,105 | |
| • Density | 1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 85194 / 85100 | |
| Elevation | 0–26 m (0–85 ft) | |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | ||
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Les Sables-d'Olonne (pronounced: [lɛ sabl dolɔn]) (French meaning: "the sands of Olonne") is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.
Events
The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne.
Personalities
The town is the birthplace of pirate François l'Olonnais.
Points of interest
Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix
Situated in a 17th-century building, the museum is devoted to modern and contemporary art. This municipal museum has "Musée de France" status. Two principal artists represented : Gaston Chaissac (1910–1964) and Victor Brauner (1903–1966).
History
The history of Sables-d'Olonne has been linked with the Atlantic Ocean ever since its foundation in 1218 from Havre d'Olonne by Savary I de Mauléon, the Lord of Mauléon, Sénéchal of Poitou and prince of Talmont.
- In 1472, Louis XI separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne.
- In the 17th century, the port of Les Sables d'Olonne was the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants.
- During the French Revolution, the city supported the Republic, unlike the surrounding Vendée. Thus it was often besieged, but unsuccessfully, thanks to its port.
- Its first bathing establishments were started in 1825, initiating the local tourism industry.
- On 29 December 1866, the railroad, on the line from La Roche-sur-Yon, Bressuire, Saumur, and Tours, reached Les Sables. Express service to Paris would arrive in 1971.
- During the night of 27 August 1944, the occupying German army, upon evacuation, destroyed the port and mined the harbour.
Image gallery
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The channel, view from the tower St-Clair.
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The channel, from the west dock.
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Promenade de l'Amiral Lafargue.
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The priory St-Nicolas.
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The tower St-Clair.
Twin towns
Les Sables-d'Olonne is a sister town of
Schwabach, Germany since 1975
Sliema, Malta since 2005
Trapani, Italy
Worthing, United Kingdom since 1998
See also
- Communes of the Vendée department
- The town is where the 1948 novel Les Vacances de Maigret by Georges Simenon took place.
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les Sables-d'Olonne. |
- City council website (French)
- Les Sables-d'Olonne, Vendee Globe Race (in English)
- Les Sables-d'Olonne Tourist Board (French)
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