Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer (, "Saint-Mandrier on Sea"; ), commonly referred to simply as Saint-Mandrier (former official name), is a commune in the southeastern French department of Var,

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Across the harbour from the military port of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, first naval base in Europe by size and homeport of the aircraft carrier ''Charles de Gaulle'',

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer is home to a fishing port of its own, tucked into a small inlet.

History

Situated on the Isle de Sépet until a causeway was constructed between 1630 and 1657, what is now the town shows evidence of long habitation. A

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n tower once stood on the island, while the area was cleared for farming in the 6th century. The Phoenician tower was converted to a Christian chapel in 566 and the church of Saint-Honorat was built in 1020. Gustave Fayet - Vue de Saint-Mandrier

The causeway to the mainland (the Isthme des Sablettes) not only led to the creation of an independent town, but the use of the area as a battery station for the heavily fortified port of Toulon. Fishing and naval work dominated the town, with the construction of the "Infirmerie Royale Saint-Louis" naval hospital, becoming the "Hôpital Maritime Saint-Mandrier" in 1818. In the 19th century, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer also was home to sailmaking. Naval aviation and the Fleet Mechanics and Pilots School (École des Mécaniciens et Chauffeurs de la flotte, GEM) were located in the town in the 1930s. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer was fortified with two turrets, each mounting a pair of 340mm naval guns taken the French battleship ''

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

''. This fortress controlled the approaches to

; the range and power of these guns was such that a considerable Allied naval force was required to destroy them. Part of the fleet and the first to engage the battery was the Free French battleship ''

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

'', sister ship to the ''Provence'' and mounting the same type of gun. The Allies, who termed the battery 'Big Willie', dedicated a

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

heavy cruiser A heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in calibre, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Treat ...

to shelling it every day; eventually silenced the guns on 23 August 1944, although the fortress would not be taken until 28th. In 1948, the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

cemetery in Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer was made a national necropolis. In 1961, it received the remains of an additional 975 Italian soldiers killed in

while fighting for the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. The cemetery also features the necropolis of Admiral

Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville Vice-Admiral Louis-René Madelaine Le Vassor, comte de Latouche-Tréville (; 3 June 1745 – 19 August 1804) was a French Navy officer and politician who served in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. ...

, who served as commander of the naval forces in the Mediterranean under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. Cimetiere Militaire Franco - Italien, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer - panoramio (1).jpg, French and Italian flags at the war cemetery Cimetiere Militaire Franco - Italien - panoramio.jpg, Stairs to the Latouche Tréville necropolis On 11 April 1950, Saint-Mandrier was made an independent commune from

La Seyne-sur-Mer La Seyne-sur-Mer (; "La Seyne on Sea"; ), or simply La Seyne, is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. La Seyne-sur-Mer, which is part of the agglomeration of Toulon, is situated adja ...

."Regards sur l'histoire de Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer"
(in French). Louis Clément of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS) served as its first mayor for over 20 years. On 16 April 1951, it was officially renamed Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer.

Geography

Climate

Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Csa''). The average annual temperature in Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer was on 7 July 1982; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 9 January 1985.

Demographics

Its inhabitants are called ''Mandréens'' (masculine) and ''Mandréennes'' (feminine) in French.

Economy

Once home to a French Naval Air station, its location near the homeport of the French Navy at Toulon has meant that the military has played a huge economic role in the life of the town. Increasingly, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer is focused on the tourist industry.

References

External links

ville-saintmandrier.fr
official website.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintmandriersurmer Communes of Var (department) Populated coastal places in France