La Baule-Escoublac (; br, Ar Baol-Skoubleg, ), commonly referred to as La Baule, is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population ...

department,

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

, western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. A century-old

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

in southern

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

with villas, casino, luxury hotels and an original mix of old Breton and seaside culture with a 9 kilometre long sand

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

, La Baule has long been home to French high society's seaside residences. During July and August each year, the population of La Baule increases dramatically with many Parisians staying for weeks and regular day-trippers from Nantes. Parisians can take the train in Paris Montparnasse Station and it is about 3 hours to go to La Baule. Despite this, La Baule is still virtually unknown outside France.

History

In 1779, a violent storm buried the village of Escoublac, near the current location of La Baule, under sand. Escoublac was rebuilt further inland. At that time, the very unstable

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s were occupied only by customs officers, who gave them the name of Bôle, a term indicating an easily flooded maritime meadow.

Birth of a seaside resort

It was only in 1879, when the

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocea ...

- Croisic railroad was conceived by Parisian industrialist Jules-Joseph Hennecart that the tourist potential of the coast was recognised. Just before the inauguration of the line, Hennecart bought 40 ha of dunes for the Society of Escoublac Dunes (Société des dunes d'Escoublac) and commissioned local architect Georges Lafont to design the new town. Lafont designed a long sand promenade named Avenue de la Gare (today Avenue du Général-de-Gaulle) and a chapel (see picture). After the railroad opened Lafont built more than 250 villas, taking the lead in the development of the

Rise of a seaside resort

In 1918, casino business magnate François André (see Groupe Lucien Barrière) set up the redesigning of the La Baule resort based on the

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...

model by combining casinos, luxury hotels and sports facilities all on one site. In the 1920s, Parisian businessman Louis Lajarrige designed the ''Bois d'Amour'' district at

La Baule-les-Pins La Baule-les-Pins is a quartier of La Baule-Escoublac, Loire-Atlantique, France.Rough Guides (Firm), David Abram -The Rough Guide to France 2003 - Page 493 1843530562 La Baule has two gare SNCFs, the barely-used eponym An eponym is a per ...

and formed an agreement with the railroad company to move the rails away from the seaside to ensure a direct access to the beach. On July 27, 1927 the new stations of ''La Baule-les-Pins'' and ''La Baule-Escoublac'' were inaugurated while the old station was torn down to create a flower garden square. By that time, La Baule had become a fashionable seaside resort.

Poche de Saint-Nazaire

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, La Baule formed part of the protective stretch of coast leading to the nearby harbour city of

, home of one of the biggest U-Boat stations that the Germans built. It not only serviced the German submarine fleet, but was also the only dry dock on the Atlantic capable of housing the

German battleship Tirpitz ''Tirpitz'' was the second of two s built for Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) prior to and during the Second World War. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy), the shi ...

, one of two Bismarck-class ships built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. La Baule and the surrounding areas were heavily occupied by the Germans throughout World War II. During the occupation, a large number of Jewish residents and resistance members were deported to the concentration camps; in La Baule itself 32 Jewish men, women and children - the youngest of whom was 3 years old - were deported (with the assistance of the local French police) to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

where they all perished. In 2011, a small group of local residents formed a group to create a permanent memorial, in the form of

Stolperstein A (; plural ; literally 'stumbling stone', metaphorically a 'stumbling block') is a sett-size, concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The project, initia ...

, to the 32 Jewish deportees since, although there was a memorial in La Baule to 40 named war victims, there was no mention there or on any other memorial of the 32 Jewish deportees. The Mayor refused to allow a request for the Stolpersteines to be installed, claiming that to do so might infringe the French constitutional principles of secularism ("''laïcité''") and freedom of opinion ("''liberté d'opinion''") and that the Mairie would therefore need to consult the Conseil d'État, France's constitutional court. In fact, Stolpersteines contain no reference to the religion of the victim who is commemorated and 'freedom of opinion/expression' has never been invoked in either French or European jurisprudence to justify the refusal to commemorate individual victims of war crimes. The Mayor of La Baule has consistently refused to elaborate on his reasoning, and there is no record of the Municipal Council of La Baule having sought a declaration from the Conseil d'Etat in respect of these objections. Such was the importance attached to the area by the Germans that their troops kept fighting in La Baule and

for nine months longer than in the rest of the department, eventually surrendering on May 11, 1945, (3 days after the German unconditional surrender), making this one of the last liberated parts of France. This episode is called ''Poche de Saint-Nazaire'' from the French expression ''poche de resistance''. Chapelle Sainte-Anne de La Baule 02.jpg, Chapelle Saint-Anne La Baule-Escoublac gare 1.jpg, La Baule-Escoublac railroad station Hôtel Castel Marie-Louise La Baule.JPG, Hôtel Castel Marie-Louise Hôtel Hermitage La Baule 2.JPG, Hôtel Hermitage Hôtel Royal La Baule.jpg, Hôtel Royal MajesticLaBaule.jpg, Hôtel Majestic

Population

Tourism

One of France's most exclusive seaside resorts during the first half of the 20th century, La Baule has become much more democratized since the 1960s. Today the resort mixes wealthy family villas, luxury hotels and seaside apartment buildings. The nearby region has long been an area of contact and conflict between Breton culture and that of the neighbouring Loire Valley, and consequently is rich with historic places, castles ( Nantes castle), walled cities ( Guerande), not to mention 19th century seaside resorts, such as

Quiberon Quiberon (; , ) is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, administrative region of Brittany, western France. It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It ...

, and many typical Breton fishing villages (

Le Croisic Le Croisic (; br, Ar Groazig; french: label= Gallo, Le Croèzic) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. It is part of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire. History The United States Navy established a naval air station on 2 ...

Pornichet Pornichet (; br, link=no, Pornizhan) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Geography Location Pornichet is a coastal town of the Côte d'Amour, located ten kilometers west of the centre of Saint-Nazaire. The a ...

Culture

Grand Prix de la Baule (automobiles)

The Grand Prix de la Baule was a

Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and ...

event held there during the 1930s.

Grand Prix de la Baule (equestrian)

Today, the Grand Prix de la Ville de La Baule is an equestrian jumping competition part of the international Equestrian Nations Cup series.

Tourism

Local tourist authorities routinely refer to the bay as "the most beautiful in Europe". La Baule is part of the

Côte d'Amour The Côte d'Amour is a name given to part of the north western Atlantic coast of the Pays de la Loire region in France. It runs from Le Traict de Pen Bé to the mouth of the Loire in Saint-Nazaire, both of which are in the Loire-Atlantique departm ...

. The commune of Escoublac has achieved a new vitality with the restoration of its civic center and the installation of many attractions. The Musee Aeronautique Presqu'ile Cote d'Amour (MAPICA), located at the airport, maintains a collection of restored historical French aircraft in flying condition.

Personalities linked to the commune

* Lluís Companys i Jover (1882-1940) *

William Grover-Williams William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)), also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked ...

(1903-1945) *

Henri Anger Henri Anger (8 June 1907 – 1989) was a French journalist and writer. Entered at '' Télégramme de Brest et de l'Ouest'' in 1944, he became its chief editor in 1965. He used to sign his columns under the pseudonym Kerdaniel. After he finished ...

(1907–1989), novelist *

Gérard Lecointe Gérard Pierre Louis François Armand Lecointe (7 July 1912, in Poitiers, France – 30 January 2009, in La Baule-Escoublac, France) was a French '' général de corps d'armée''. He served in World War II and the Cold War and saw colonial servic ...

(1912-2009) *

Olivier Guichard Olivier Guichard (; 27 July 1920 – 20 January 2004) was a French politician. He was born in Néac and joined the French Army in 1944 and served until the end of World War II, during which, he earned the Médaille militaire and the Croix de ...

(1920–2004) * Lucien Barrière (1923-1991) *

Édouard Luntz Édouard Luntz (8 August 1931 – 26 February 2009) was a French film director. He directed nine films between 1959 and 1973. His 1966 film '' Les coeurs verts'' was entered into the 16th Berlin International Film Festival and his 1970 film ...

Dominique Desseigne Dominique Desseigne (born 19 August 1944 in Commercy) is a French businessperson. He is the chief executive of Groupe Lucien Barrière. After refusing to submit to a paternity test, he was recognized by a court of law as the father of Rachida D ...

(1944) *

Marc Pajot Marc Pajot (born 21 September 1953, in La Baule) is a French sailor. He has been a crew member on Éric Tabarly’s boats. Noted for winning the Silver medal at the 1972 Olympics at 19 with his older brother Yves, 5 times world champion, winner ...

, (1953) *

Bruno Peyron Bruno Tristan Peyron (born 10 November 1955) is a French yachtsman who, along with his crew on the catamaran '' Orange II'', broke the outright round-the-world sailing record in March 2005. He was the first winner of the Jules Verne Trophy in 1 ...

, (1955) *

Lolo Ferrari Lolo Ferrari (born Ève Valois; 9 February 1963 – 5 March 2000), was a French dancer, actress, and singer billed as "the woman with the largest breast implants in the world". She entered the international limelight in 1995, appearing in the ...

(1963-2000) * Charlotte Di Calypso Plage de la Baule

International relations

La Baule-Escoublac is twinned with: *

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...

in Poland *

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Homburg, Saarland Homburg (; french: Hombourg, pfl, Humborch) is a town in Saarland, Germany and the administrative seat of the Saarpfalz district. With a population of 43,029 inhabitants (2022), it is the third largest town in the state. The city offers over ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, since 1984 *

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

History

Birth of a seaside resort

Rise of a seaside resort

Poche de Saint-Nazaire

Population

Tourism

Culture

Grand Prix de la Baule (automobiles)

Grand Prix de la Baule (equestrian)

Tourism

Personalities linked to the commune

International relations

See also

References

External links