La Baule-Escoublac

History

Seaside resort

In 1879, when the Saint-Nazaire-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 seaside resort.

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 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 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 27 July 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, La Baule formed part of the protective stretch of coast leading to the nearby harbour city of Saint-Nazaire, 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, 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 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, to the 32 Jewish deportees. There was a memorial in La Baule to 40 named war victims, with 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, saying 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.

Germans troops fought in La Baule and Saint-Nazaire for nine months longer than in the rest of the department, surrendering on 11 May 1945 (3 days after the German unconditional surrender).

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

|graph-pos = bottom |1793 |1600 |1800 |796 |1806 |1113 |1821 |933 |1831 |1238 |1841 |1190 |1846 |1179 |1851 |1217 |1856 |1180 |1861 |1157 |1866 |1200 |1872 |1172 |1876 |1223 |1881 |1415 |1886 |1535 |1891 |1648 |1896 |1912 |1901 |1777 |1906 |2167 |1911 |2727 |1921 |3395 |1926 |5051 |1931 |6126 |1936 |6115 |1946 |15205 |1954 |13166 |1962 |13004 |1968 |13336 |1975 |15006 |1982 |14553 |1990 |14845 |1999 |15831 |2007 |16719 |2012 |15474 |2017 |16132

Culture

La Baule Professional Tennis Championships

There were several pro tennis tournaments held at La Baule on red clay courts.

Grand Prix de la Baule (automobiles)

The Grand Prix de la Baule was a Grand Prix motor racing event held there during the 1930s.

Grand Prix de la Baule (equestrian)

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

Tourism

The Musée Aéronautique Presqu'île Côte d'Amour (MAPICA), located at the airport, maintains a collection of restored historical French aircraft in flying condition.

People linked to the commune

• Lluís Companys i Jover (1882-1940)
• William Grover-Williams (1903-1945)
• Henri Anger (1907–1989), novelist
• Gérard Lecointe (1912-2009)
• Olivier Guichard (1920–2004)
• Lucien Barrière (1923-1991)
• Édouard Luntz
• Dominique Desseigne (1944)
• Marc Pajot, (1953)
• Bruno Peyron, (1955)
• Lolo Ferrari (1963-2000)
• Charlotte Di Calypso

International relations

La Baule-Escoublac is twinned with:

• POL Nowy Sącz in Poland
• SCO Inverness, Scotland
• GER Homburg, Saarland, Germany, since 1984
• GRE Corfu, Greece

References

References

1. (13 September 2022). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
2. The chapel has been known since 1981 as Sainte-Anne chapel
3. Vichy France and the Jews by Michael Robert Marrus, Robert O. Paxton, {{ISBN. 0-8047-2499-7
4. {{Cassini-Ehess. 12956. La Baule-Escoublac
5. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-44055#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
6. La Baule Professional Championships. https://www.tennisarchives.com/tournament/?t=2920&n=La%20Baule%20Professionals
7. (21 June 2008). "La Baule - Grand prix longines : la baule".
8. (21 June 2008). "La Baule - Grand prix longines : la baule".
9. (18 June 2008). "La Baule - International Show Jumping of France".
10. (21 May 2008). "La Baule - Samsung super league : la baule".
11. "Restauration et conservation du patrimoine aéronautique - MAPICA".
12. "Musee Aeronautique Presqu'ile Cote d'Amour - la Baule-Escoublac - France".
13. "Miasta partnerskie i zaprzyjaźnione Nowego Sącza". Urząd Miasta Nowego Sącza.
14. "British towns twinned with French towns ''[via WaybackMachine.com]''". Archant Community Media Ltd.