Les Sables-d'Olonne

Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne
	Les Sables-d'Olonne
	Coat of arms
	Motto(s): Advocata nostra, ora pro nobis
	Location of Les Sables-d'Olonne
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
Area 1	8.83 km2 (3.41 sq mi)
Population (2006)	16,105
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	85194 /85100
Elevation	0–26 m (0–85 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Les Sables-d'Olonne (pronounced [lɛ sabl dolɔn]) (French meaning: "the sands of Olonne") is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Ocean.^{[not verified in body]} It is a sub-prefecture of the Department of Vendée, and has the administrative level of commune.^{[not verified in body]}

Location and geography

Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, on the Atlantic Ocean.^{[citation needed]} It is situated on the coast between La Rochelle and Saint-Nazaire, hear 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).^{[citation needed]}

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

History

Les Sables-d'Olonne (pronounced [lɛ sabl dolɔn]) is French for "the sands of Olonne".^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Its history is tied to the ocean for which it has served as a port and point of maritime commerce.^{[citation needed]} Louis XI separated Les Sables d'Olonne from the town of Olonne in 1472.^{[citation needed]} It became the largest cod-fishing port in France, with 14,000 inhabitants, in the 17th century.^{[citation needed]} During the French Revolution, unlike the surrounding Vendée, the city supported the Republic, and so was often besieged—unsuccessfully, because of its port.^{[citation needed]} 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;^{[citation needed]} express service t and from Paris would arrive in 1971.^{[citation needed]} Germany occupied, Les Sables d'Olonne during World War II,^{[citation needed]} and upon evacuation of that army at war's end, the German army made an effort to destroy the port, and mined the harbor.^{[citation needed]}

Interests and events

The Vendée Globe yacht race, which takes place every four years, starts and ends at Les Sables-d'Olonne.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]} It includes works of Gaston Chaissac (1910–1964) and Victor Brauner (1903–1966).^{[citation needed]}^[why?]

Les Sables-d'Olonne is the setting for 1948 novel Les Vacances de Maigret [fr], by Georges Simenon.^{[citation needed]}

The town is the birthplace of pirate François l'Olonnais.^{[citation needed]}