Les Sables-d'Olonne

Les Sables-d'Olonne (French pronunciation: [le sabl dɔlɔn] (listen); French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne") is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administrative level of commune. On 1 January 2019, the municipalities of Olonne-sur-Mer, Château-d'Olonne and Les Sables-d'Olonne merged, retaining the latter name.[2]

Les Sables-d'Olonne
Subprefecture and commune
View of Les Sables-d'Olonne
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Advocata nostra, ora pro nobis
Location of Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Coordinates: 46°29′50″N 1°47′00″W
CountryFrance
RegionPays de la Loire
DepartmentVendée
ArrondissementLes Sables-d'Olonne
CantonLes Sables-d'Olonne
IntercommunalityLes Sables-d'Olonne Agglomeration
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Yannick Moreau
Area
1
86.07 km2 (33.23 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2019)[1]
45,030
 • Density520/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
85194 /85100, 85340, 85180
Elevation0–59 m (0–194 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Location and geography

Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on the coast between La Rochelle and Saint-Nazaire, near the coastal terminus of the A87 that connects it and nearby communities to La Roche-sur-Yon, Cholet, and Angers to the northeast. The nearest major metropolitan center of France, to Les Sables-d'Olonne, is Nantes, to the north (approximately 105 km, by road).[3]

It is at the level of administrative division in the French Republic of a commune[4]—roughly equivalent to civil townships in the United States—and is a sub-prefecture of the Department of Vendée.[5]

History

Les Sables-d'Olonne (pronounced [le sabl dolɔn]) is French for "the sands of Olonne". It was founded in 1218 from Havre d'Olonne by Savary I de Mauléon, the Lord of Mauléon, Sénéchal of Poitou and prince of Talmont. Its history is tied to the ocean for which it has served as a port and point of maritime commerce. Louis XI separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne in 1472. It became the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants, in the 17th century. During the French Revolution, unlike the surrounding Vendée, the city supported the Republic, and so was often besieged—unsuccessfully, because of its port. The current local tourism industry traces its roots to bathing establishments, first begun in 1825. Rail service reached Les Sables on 29 December 1866, via the line from La Roche-sur-Yon, Bressuire, Saumur, and Tours; express service to and from Paris would arrive in 1971. The city's port served as a base port for American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.[6] Germany occupied Les Sables d'Olonne during World War II and, upon evacuation of that army at war's end, the German army made an effort to destroy the port, and mined the harbor.

Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Les Sables-d'Olonne proper, in its geography at the given years. The populations of Olonne-sur-Mer and Château-d'Olonne, absorbed in 2019, are not included.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 5,039—    
1800 5,168+0.36%
1806 5,723+1.71%
1821 4,698−1.31%
1831 4,906+0.43%
1836 4,778−0.53%
1841 5,076+1.22%
1846 6,280+4.35%
1851 5,983−0.96%
1856 6,464+1.56%
1861 6,996+1.59%
1866 7,352+1.00%
1872 8,292+2.03%
1876 9,347+3.04%
1881 10,420+2.20%
1886 11,070+1.22%
1891 11,557+0.86%
1896 11,826+0.46%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 12,244+0.70%
1906 12,673+0.69%
1911 14,005+2.02%
1921 13,387−0.45%
1926 13,627+0.36%
1931 13,660+0.05%
1936 14,536+1.25%
1946 17,650+1.96%
1954 17,761+0.08%
1962 18,401+0.44%
1968 18,093−0.28%
1975 17,463−0.51%
1982 16,100−1.15%
1990 15,830−0.21%
1999 15,532−0.21%
2007 15,433−0.08%
2012 14,271−1.55%
2017 14,545+0.38%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (2007-2017)[8][9]

Interests and events

The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne.

The Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix is a municipal museum situated in a 17th-century building that is devoted to modern and contemporary art, and that has "Musée de France" status. It includes works of Gaston Chaissac (1910–1964) and Victor Brauner (1903–1966).

Les Sables-d'Olonne is the setting for 1948 novel Les Vacances de Maigret, by Georges Simenon.

The town is the birthplace of pirate François l'Olonnais.

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Les Sables-d'Olonne is twinned with:[10]

  • The channel, view from the tower St-Clair
  • The channel, from the west dock
  • Promenade de l'Amiral Lafargue
  • The priory St-Nicolas
  • The tower St-Clair

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
  2. Arrêté préfectoral 17 August 2018 (in French)
  3. "Distances, directions, consommation et prix de carburant, les péages, limites de vitesse, France et l'Europe".
  4. "Ville de les Sables-d'Olonne, information sur la mairie de les Sables-d'Olonne et sur le territoire, 85100 - Commune-Mairie.fr".
  5. "La sous-préfecture des Sables d'Olonne". 29 April 2021.
  6. Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, American Expeditionary Forces: General Headquarters Armies, Army Corps Services of Supply Separate Forces, Volume I (PDF). Center of Military History, United States Army. 1937. p. 55. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  7. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Les Sables-d'Olonne, EHESS. (in French)
  8. Populations légales 2012, INSEE
  9. Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEE
  10. "Jumelages". lessablesdolonne.fr (in French). Les Sables-d'Olonne. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
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