Soorts-Hossegor (; ) is a commune in the

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

of Landes,

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

, southwestern France, 20 km (12 miles) north of

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

. The town is on a plot of land with 4 beaches on 3.5 km of European Atlantic shoreline, and a lake. Its inhabitants are called Hossegoriens. The area has been inhabited for a millennium, it became a pilgrimage stop off in the 14th century and has since become a well-known

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

as of the 19th century. The town's economy is centered around the sport of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

, and the local beach is a world famous

surf break A surf break (also break, shore break, or big wave break) is a permanent (or semi-permanent) obstruction such as a coral reef, rock (geology), rock, shoal, or headland that causes a Wind wave, wave to Wind wave#Wave breaking, break, forming a ...

. When possible, the town co-hosts the

World Surf League The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfing, surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The WSL was originally known as International Professional Surfing ( ...

yearly competitions along with the neighbouring towns of Capbreton and

Seignosse Seignosse (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Landes (department), Landes Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Tourism and leisure Surfing Seignosse is prized for surfing. Wi ...

. Since the 1980s, global companies have established themselves in the town's industrial park.

Name

In 1913, the town associated the toponym of Hossegor, from the name of its marine lake, with its original name of Soorts. The root of the name Soorts is probably close to that of ''Sorde'', the verb or , , meaning "where there are sources". Related names are Sor (Ariège, Sort) and Sort-en-Chalosse (Landes) from the same Gascon etymon. The origin of ''Hossegor'' is more obscure: it may be an Aquitain or Basque name to be attached to the hydronyms ''osse'' and the adjective ''gorri'', meaning "dry water".

History

The history of the town and inhabited area originated in the 11th century with the town of Soorts. The local church was built in the 14th century as a costal path to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

, in Spain. And, Bielle farm, the town's oldest building was constructed at that time. In the 19th century, the town of Soorts began its transformation into a local hub. Starting in 1869, with the digging of the Hossegor pond canal towards the sea, which is 99 hectares in size today. Then in 1913, a stone bridge was constructed, connecting the ponds and lake. On April 1 of that year, thanks to an increase in tourism, the local government decided to add the name of Hossegor to the town of Soorts, thus creating , as it's known today. Some noteworthy visitors early to Soorts-Hossegor have included J.H. Rosny in 1903 and Paul Margueritte in 1909. Other personalities later joined them, like Charles Derennes in 1913, then Maxime Leroy, Gaston Chérau, Pierre Benoit, Tristan Dereme and

Leon Blum Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

in 1920. In 1923, the seaside town was connected via railway for the first time, and the town became known as a seaside resort. Then between 1929-1939, the area was transformed into the town and

it is today. Under the leadership of 5 French architects, there was the construction of around 400 villas (183 today), hotels, a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

. Also, the ''Place des Landis'', built in 1928, by the Gomez brothers, the 1km beachfront pedestrian esplanade was built in the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style. The construction of homes and businesses were in a Basque-Landes architectural style unique to the area. The town was mostly developed during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and considered a part of the neo- Basque regionalist movement. Also, the sports

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

was built in the years of 1927-1931, in the same local Basque-Landes style. Many hotels were built at that time, such as ''Les Hortensias du Lac'', a four-star luxury hotel with an extraordinary view of the marine lake, and the Mercedes, a three-star hotel near the city center overlooking the canal. Development continued in Hoessgor after the art-deco era. A small

industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

was built, with the relocation of the headquarters of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an branch of the surf brand

Rip Curl Rip Curl is an Australian designer, manufacturer, and retailer of Surfing#Equipment, surfing sportswear (also known as ''boardwear'') and accompanying products, and a major athletic sponsor. Rip Curl has become one of the largest surfing compan ...

to the area in 1980, today followed by the HQ's for the surf companies

Quiksilver Quiksilver is a brand of surf-inspired apparel and accessories that was founded in 1969 in Torquay, Victoria, but is now based in Huntington Beach, California. It is one of the world's largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equip ...

Billabong In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...

and

Rusty Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell (given name), Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rust ...

Sports

There are many sports played in the town, such as swimming, tennis, horse riding and Basque pelote.

Surfing

The naming of ''Hossegor'' in the

Gascon language Gascon ( , , ) is the vernacular Romance variety spoken mainly in the region of Gascony, France. It is often considered a variety of larger Occitan macrolanguage, although some authors consider it a separate language due to hindered mutual ...

is to do with the 'gouf of Capbreton', an underwater canyon thousands of metres deep and hundreds of kilometres long, this creates waves from the ocean on the Landes

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. It was in the 1950s when surfing became popular in the town. In the Landes region are several good surfing spots which are enjoyed when possible by the public and also professional athletes as part of yearly competition. Since 1984, the French Surf Federation has its headquarters in Hossegor. As part of the

, there is a stage designated to the local Hossegor area for a surf competition. Depending on the weather, the competition is held at the end of September. Since 1987, the competition brings the biggest names in

, and the tour competition is split between the men's

Quiksilver Pro France The Quiksilver Pro France is a men's surfing event on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour. The event is part of the yearly world tour (Quiksilver Pro since 2002), and takes place in Landes de Gascogne in the Landes (department), Landes ...

and women's

Roxy Pro France The Roxy Pro France is a women's surfing event in the Landes (department) in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in the South West of France. The tour stop will be held in the area of Landes de Gascogne (Landes forest). The event on the Women's World Championsh ...

events. The Hossegor coast has been one of the few world class surfing locations in

Atlantic Europe Atlantic Europe encompasses the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as a biogeographical region. It comprises the British Isles (Great Britain an ...

, with beach breaks at Gravière and La Nord, Les Estagnots. Also, there's nearby beach breaks in Capbreton and

, which have shared the surf competition due to differing wave conditions. Another event takes place during Easter weekend: the sale of "spirit surf" clothes. More than 100,000 people flock to the craft zone, looking to purchase sports wear, or equipment.

Golf

It was in 1927 that the local golf course was built. Each summer the Grand Prix des Landes takes place on the Hossegor golf course, the course is a part of the

European Golf Association The European Golf Association (EGA) is a non-profit organisation based in Epalinges, Switzerland, which was founded in 1937 in Luxembourg. The EGA's main activity consists of coordinating and co-organizing European amateur golf championships. It ...

Jai alai

In 1958, the first

Jai alai Jai alai ( : ) is a Basque sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker, commonly referred to as a ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by ...

(Basque sport) sporting location in France opened in . Since 2019, there has been an annual competition televised on the Canal+ Sports channel, and now a roof has been to the arena.

Climate

Population

In 2020, the town had 3,497 inhabitants, a decrease of 7.8% compared to 2012.

Twin town

Nazaré, Portugal Nazaré () is a Portugal, Portuguese town and municipality located in the Oeste Subregion, Oeste region, in the historical province of Estremadura Province (1936-1976), Estremadura, and in the Leiria District. The municipality has a population of 1 ...

. * Taiʻarapu-Ouest,

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

, twinned in 2022.

Beach gallery

hossegor2.jpg, Plage Centrale Soorts-Hossegor beachfront.jpg, Basque-Landis architecture Notre Dame Beach, Soorts-Hossegor.jpg, The Notre Dame Beach in Soorts-Hossegor Hossegor beach statue.jpg, Note Dame beach, Lucien Danglade statue Woman on sandy beach (Unsplash).jpg, Beach panoramic view Hossegor boat entry.jpg, Entrance for boats to marina

References

* Sébastien Barrère, Petite histoire d'Hossegor, Éditions Cairn, 2015, 156 p. ()

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soortshossegor Communes of Landes (department) Landes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Surfing in France Surfing locations in France