Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie

Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒil kʁwa d(ə) vi]) is a commune in the Vendée department, region of Pays de la Loire, western France.

Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Commune
A general view of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
A general view of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Coat of arms of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is located in France
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is located in Pays de la Loire
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Coordinates: 46°41′54″N 1°56′22″W
CountryFrance
RegionPays de la Loire
DepartmentVendée
ArrondissementLes Sables-d'Olonne
CantonSaint-Hilaire-de-Riez
IntercommunalityCA Pays de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) François Blanchet[1]
Area
1
10.25 km2 (3.96 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
7,922
 • Density770/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
85222 /85800
Elevation0–28 m (0–92 ft)
WebsiteSite
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is situated on the Côte de Lumière. The community originated in 1967 from the unification of two communities on either side of the estuary of the river the Vie, Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie and Croix-de-Vie.

Known for its important fishing harbor (specializing in sardines), since 1982 Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is also classified as a seaside resort.[3]

History

In the ninth century, the monks of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard settled in what was then called Sidunum, a priory and a fortified church.[4]: 328  In the Middle Ages, the city, organized around the main street (now the Rue Torterue) became an important port, capable of accommodating ships with a capacity of one hundred tons.

Croix-de-Vie appeared on the right bank of the Vie, when the Duke of Montausier granted Saint-Gilles plots of land on the "small island" so they could build their homes.[4] In 1610, Marie Beaucaire built the large pier and the wharf and then a chapel from 1611 to 1613. This building was used for worship until the construction of Sainte-Croix Church in 1896 which is used today.

In 1622, King Louis XIII of France spent dinner one night in Croix de Vie, in a mansion located what is now in General de Gaulle street.[4]

Although Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie was three hours from Nantes and ten hours from Paris, the development of railways from the 1880s increasingly allowed holidaymakers to reach the seaside town. A trade union initiative was created in 1922.[3] On 23 January 1967, Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie and Croix-de-Vie merged to create the new municipality of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.[5] The fusion was the idea of Marcel Ragon and Charles Grasset. Ragon became the first mayor of the new municipality while the latter, who had served as deputy mayor of Croix-de-Vie from March 1965 until December 1966, went on to serve under Ragon as deputy mayor of the new municipality until 1995.[6]

In 1982, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie was classified as a resort.[3]

Geography

Location
Location of the canton of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (in red) within the Vendée.

Situated on the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, along the côte de Lumière about 70 kilometres from Nantes, 320 from Bordeaux, 450 from Paris and 600 from Lyon,[7] Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie covers an area of 10.3 square kilometres.[8]

It is bordered by the communes of Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez to the north, Le Fenouiller to the north east, Givrand to the southeast, and Bretignolles-sur-Mer to the south.[9] Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie station has rail connections to Sainte-Pazanne and Nantes.

It was the chef-lieu of the former canton of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, which had an area of 29,192 hectares and contained 14 communes:[10] L'Aiguillon-sur-Vie, Brem-sur-Mer, Bretignolles-sur-Mer, La Chaize-Giraud, Coëx, Commequiers, Le Fenouiller, Givrand, Landevieille, Notre-Dame-de-Riez, Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, Saint-Maixent-sur-Vie and Saint-Révérend.

Climate

The meteorological measurements began in 1877 in Saint-Gilles.[11]

The climate of the Vendée department is oceanic. The coast experiences significant rainfall in winter and a few storms. Under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is cool in summer. However, the Vendée is one of the sunniest departments of France in terms of the energy received, with 1268 kWh per m² per year.[12]

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 6,178—    
1975 6,725+1.22%
1982 6,159−1.25%
1990 6,296+0.28%
1999 6,797+0.85%
2007 7,260+0.83%
2012 7,409+0.41%
2017 7,655+0.66%
Source: INSEE[13]

Culture

Religion
Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie church (1896)

The town has two Catholic churches (one on either side of the river), the churches of Saint-Gilles et Sainte-Croix. Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is part of the diocese of Luçon, which is part of the Ecclesiastical province of Rennes.[14] It is the seat of a deanery of four parishes: Sainte Anne de Riez (around the town of Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez), Saint Jean du Gué Gorand (Coëx), Saint Nicolas de l'Océan (Bretignolles-sur-Mer), and Notre Dame de la Vie (Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie).[15] The latter, Notre Dame de la Vie, has four bell towers—in the churches of Saint-Gilles and Sainte-Croix, as well as those of Fenouiller and Givrand.[16]

In the middle of the sixteenth century, a protestant church was founded in Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie; it was destroyed in November 1665, as one of seventeen protestant churches in the Bas-Poitou, the region that corresponds to today's Vendée.[17][18]

The Brotherhood of the Sardine

The Brotherhood of the Sardine (Confrérie de la Sardine) was founded in 1991. Headed by a grandmaster, it is devoted to the promotion of the seaside resort and the celebration of products from the sea, especially the sardine, which has become a speciality of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie.[19] Notable "sympathizers" include sailor Michel Desjoyeaux, actress Isabel Otero, and the former Prime Minister of France François Fillon.[20]

Companies
  • Beneteau – boat manufacturer, founded in 1884 in Croix-de-Vie

Personalities
  • Marcel Baudouin (1860–1941) -physician
  • Narcisse Pelletier (1844–1894) -castaway
  • Benjamin Bénéteau, founder of the commune in 1884.
  • Marie de Beaucaire (1535–1613), Baronness of Rié. Did much to facilitate development into a town.,.[3][21][22]
  • Pierre Desproges (1939–1988), comedian[23]
  • Pierre Garcie-Ferrande, (1430–1520) cartographer.[24]
  • Charles Atamian (1872–1947) -painter, painted many scenes of the Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie shore.
  • Émile Goué (1904–1946), composer, composed Wanda (1934) situated in Croix-de-Vie.

See also

References
  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. (in French)"Un peu d'histoire" (in French). Office de Tourisme de Saint Gilles Croix de Vie. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  4. Auzias, Dominique; Chollet, Carole; Labourdette, Jean-Paul; Lauprete, Marie-Madeleine (2008). "Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie". Le Petit Futé Vendée (12th ed.). Paris: Petit Futé. pp. 328–341. ISBN 978-2-7469-2177-1. OCLC 470903402.
  5. "Historique de la Vendée" [History of the Vendée] (in French). SPLAF. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  6. "Nécrologie : Charles Grasset, ancien maire adjoint – Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie" [Obituary : Charles Grasset, former deputy mayor of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie]. Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  7. (in French) « Venir à Saint Gilles Croix de Vie » Archived 24 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Commune de Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (85222), INSEE
  9. (in French) « Carte des cantons et communes du département de la Vendée » Archived 30 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) on the site of the Conseil général de la Vendée, consulté le 2 juillet 2009
  10. (in French) « Canton : Saint Gilles Croix de Vie » Archived 23 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine on the site of the Maison des communes de Vendée, consulté le 2 juillet 2009
  11. (in French) Catherine Corbin et Franck Baraer (Météo-France), « Étude des conditions climatiques de la Baie de Bourgneuf » Archived 9 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) sur le site officiel de l'association pour le développement du bassin versant de la Baie de Bourgneuf, mars 2003, p.4 et 30
  12. (in French) Alliance Soleil, « Étude du potentiel vendéen et des applications possibles de l'énergie solaire thermique et photovoltaïque » Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) sur le site officiel du Conseil général de la Vendée, février 2007, p.5-6
  13. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  14. Castet, Alain; Michel Santier. "Diocèse de Luçon". Conférence des évêques de France. Archived from the original on 21 June 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  15. "Notre Dame de la Vie". Diocèse de Luçon en Vendée. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  16. "Horaires des Messes". Notre Dame de la Vie. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  17. "L'Eglise Réformée de France à La Roche sur Yon et en Vendée ouest". Église Réformée de France. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  18. Brochet, Louis (1902). Histoire de la Vendée du Bas Poitou en France.
  19. "Quelques mots du grand maître". Confrérie de la sardine. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  20. Ané, Claire (19 July 2009). "A la Confrérie de la sardine, des VRP bénévoles". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 22 July 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  21. Orthographe de Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez au XVIIe
  22. (in French) Grand Dictionnaire des femmes de l'Ancienne France, « MARIE DE LUXEMBOURG DUCHESSE DE MERCOEUR et de Penthevre, Princesse de Martigues » Archived 5 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine sur le site officiel de l'association des société internationale pour l'étude des femmes de l'Ancien Régime, consulté le 15 juillet 2009
  23. (in French) Philippe Gilbert, «  La légende vendéenne de Pierre Desproges » sur lessablesdolonne.maville.com (Ouest-France), 18 avril 2008
  24. (in French) « Le premier océanographe de l'Histoire : Pierre Garcie-Ferrande, père de la cartographie marine » Archived 29 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine, le Journal de la Vendée, Conseil général de Vendée, octobre 2007
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