Saint-Tropez
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- San Tropez redirects here. For other uses, see Saint-Tropez (disambiguation)
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Please expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French Wikipedia. (March 2009) After translating, {{Translated|fr|Saint-Tropez}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance.Translation instructions · Translate via Google |
Coordinates: 43°16′24″N 6°38′23″E / 43.273296°N 6.639621°E
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Commune of Saint-Tropez |
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.JPG) Saint-Tropez |
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| Location | |
  Saint-Tropez
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Var |
| Arrondissement | Draguignan |
| Canton | Saint-Tropez |
| Mayor | Jean-Michel Couve (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 0–113 m (0–370 ft) (avg. 15 m/49 ft) |
| Land area1 | 15.18 km2 (5.86 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 5,542 (1999) |
| - Density | 365 /km2 (950 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 83119/ 83990 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Saint-Tropez (Sant Tropetz in Occitan) is a commune of the Var département in southern France (Occitania), located on the French Riviera. It is known today for its famous and wealthy guests, its history with the iconic Brigitte Bardot, and its role in the liberation of Southern France in World War II.
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[edit] History
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The town’s name derives from that of an early, semi-legendary martyr named Saint Torpes. His legend states that he was beheaded at Pisa during the reign of Nero, and that his body was placed in a rotten boat with a rooster and a dog. The body landed at the present-day location of the town.[1][2][3]
St-Tropez and its surrounds were dominated by the nearby Saracen settlement of Fraxinet in the ninth and tenth centuries.[4]
The captain [REFERENCE UNCLEAR] had the privilege of raising a standing army, which drove away a fleet of Spanish galleons in 1637. Les Bravades des Espagnols is a local religious and military celebration commemorating this victory of the Tropezian militia over the Spanish.[5]
The area was not taxed or levied by the French government during this time. However, this privilege was abrogated by King Louis XIV, who reasserted French control over the city.
The mission of the Japanese samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga, en route to Rome, visited Saint-Tropez in September 1615, in what is known as the first instance of Franco-Japanese relations.
The father of Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez was marquis de Saint-Tropez.
In the 1920s Saint-Tropez attracted international stars from the world of fashion.
During World War II, on August 15, 1944, it was the central site of a beach landing in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France. After the war it became the French existentialists' summer retreat.
But it was in the 1950s — partly thanks to Brigitte Bardot — that Saint-Tropez received international recognition and exposure through such films as Et Dieu... créa la femme.
In the 1960s and the 1970s, the film series Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez with Louis de Funès further contributed to the town's notoriety.
[edit] Port
Before 1914 Saint-Tropez was the main commercial port of France. The port was widely used during the 18th century; in 1789, the port was visited by 80 ships. Saint-Tropez’s shipyards built tartanes and three-masted ships that carried 1000 to 12200 barels. The town was the site of various associated trades, including fishing, cork, wine, wood. The town had a school of hydrography.
In 1860 the floret of the merchant marine, named "The Queen of the Angels" (a three-masted ship of 740 barrels), visited this port.
Its role as a commercial port declined, and it is now primarily a tourist spot.
[edit] Economy
The main economic resource of Saint-Tropez is tourism.
Saint-Tropez is well known for the Hôtel Byblos (and Les Caves du Roy), a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, whose inauguration with Brigitte Bardot and Gunter Sachs in 1967 was an international event.
[edit] Events
Each year, in early October, a regatta is held in the bay of Saint-Tropez (Les Voiles de St. Tropez). This is a draw for many yachts, some up to 50 metres in length. Many tourists come to the location for this event or as a stop on their trip to Cannes, Marseille or Nice.
[edit] Beaches
Tropezien beaches are located along the coast in the Baie de Pampelonne also know by the residents as Grania (pronounced granny-ay), which lies south of Saint-Tropez and east of Ramatuelle. Pampelonne offers a collection of beaches along its five kilometre shore. Each beach is around thirty metres wide with its own beach hut and private or public tanning area.
Many of the beaches offer windsurfing, sailing and canoeing equipment for rent, while others offer motorized water sports, such as power boats, jet bikes and water skiing.
Some of the private beaches are naturist beaches.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nrj-saint-tropez.com/saint-tropez/st-tropez-135.html
- ^ San Torpete (Torpes, Torpè)
- ^ History of Saint-Tropez
- ^ P. Sénac, "Contribution a l'étude des incursions Musulmanes dans l'Occident Chrétien: la localisation du Ğabal al-Qilāl" Revue de l'Occident Musulman et de la Méditerranée, 31 (1981) 7–14
- ^ Nicola Williams, Catherine Le Nevez, Provence and the Cote D' Azur (Lonely Planet, 2007), 343.
[edit] External links
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