Soorts-Hossegor | |
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 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Soorts-Hossegor | |
  Soorts-Hossegor  Soorts-Hossegor | |
| Coordinates:43°39′34″N1°25′36″W / 43.6594°N 1.4267°W /43.6594; -1.4267 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Landes |
| Arrondissement | Dax |
| Canton | Marensin Sud |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Christophe Vignaud[1] |
Area 1 | 14.51 km2 (5.60 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 3,817 |
| • Density | 263.1/km2 (681.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 40304 /40150 |
| Elevation | 0–55 m (0–180 ft) (avg. 10 m or 33 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Soorts-Hossegor (French pronunciation:[sɔʁtsɔsəɡɔʁ];Occitan:Sòrts e Òssagòr,pronounced[sɔrtseˈɔsoɡɔr],locally[sɔrtseˌɔsəɣɔɾ]) is a commune in theFrench department ofLandes,Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France, 20 km (12 miles) north ofBiarritz. The town is on a 3,700-acre (1,500 ha) plot of land with 4 beaches on 3.5 km ofEuropean 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-knownseaside resort as of the 19th century. The town's economy is centered around the sport ofsurfing, and the local beach is a world famoussurf break. When possible, the town co-hosts theWorld Surf League yearly competitions along with the neighbouring towns ofCapbreton andSeignosse. Since the 1980s, global companies have established themselves in the town's industrial park.
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 ofSorde, the verbgascon sórder orsordar,sourdre, meaning "where there are sources". Related names are Sor (Ariège, Sort) and Sort-en-Chalosse (Landes) from the same Gascon etymon. The origin ofHossegor is more obscure: it may be an Aquitain or Basque name to be attached to the hydronymsosse and the adjectivegorri, meaning "dry water".[citation needed]
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 toSantiago de Compostela, in Spain. And, Bielle farm, the town's oldest building was constructed at that time.[3]
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 creatingSoorts-Hossegor, as it's known today.[3] Some noteworthy visitors early to Soorts-Hossegor have includedJ.H. Rosny in 1903 andPaul Margueritte in 1909. Other personalities later joined them, likeCharles Derennes in 1913, then Maxime Leroy, Gaston Chérau, Pierre Benoit, Tristan Dereme andLeon Blum in 1920.[citation needed]
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 andseaside resort it is today. Under the leadership of 5 French architects,[a] there was the construction of around 400 villas (183 today), hotels, agolf course.[3] Also, thePlace des Landis, built in 1928, by the Gomez brothers, the 1km beachfront pedestrian esplanade was built in theart deco style. The construction of homes and businesses were in aBasque-Landes architectural style unique to the area. The town was mostly developed during theinterwar period and considered a part of the neo-Basque regionalist movement.[4] Also, the sportscasino was built in the years of 1927-1931, in the same local Basque-Landes style.[5] Many hotels were built at that time, such asLes 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 smallindustrial park was built, with the relocation of the headquarters of theEuropean branch of the surf brandRip Curl to the area in 1980, today followed by the HQ's for the surf companiesQuiksilver,Billabong andRusty.[3][6]
There are many sports played in the town, such as swimming, tennis, horse riding and Basquepelote.
The naming ofHossegor in theGascon language 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 Landescoast. 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.[3][7]
Since 1984, theFrench Surf Federation has its headquarters in Hossegor.[3][8] As part of theWorld Surf League, 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.[9] Since 1987, the competition brings the biggest names insurfing, and the tour competition is split between the men'sQuiksilver Pro France and women'sRoxy Pro France events.[10] The Hossegor coast has been one of the few world class surfing locations inAtlantic Europe, with beach breaks at Gravière and La Nord, Les Estagnots.[11] Also, there's nearby beach breaks inCapbreton andSeignosse, which have shared the surf competition due to differing wave conditions.[12] 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.[citation needed]
It was in 1927 that the local golf course was built.[3] Each summer the Grand Prix des Landes takes place on the Hossegor golf course, the course is a part of theEuropean Golf Association.[13]
In 1958, the firstJai alai (Basque sport) sporting location in France opened inSoorts-Hossegor. Since 2019, there has been an annual competition televised on theCanal+ Sports channel, and now a roof has been to the arena.[3][14][15]
| Climate data for Soorts-Hossegor (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1954–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) | 28.9 (84.0) | 30.0 (86.0) | 34.0 (93.2) | 36.5 (97.7) | 40.6 (105.1) | 41.0 (105.8) | 40.5 (104.9) | 39.0 (102.2) | 33.9 (93.0) | 29.0 (84.2) | 24.2 (75.6) | 41.0 (105.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.9 (53.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 17.6 (63.7) | 21.1 (70.0) | 23.6 (74.5) | 25.8 (78.4) | 26.3 (79.3) | 24.5 (76.1) | 20.6 (69.1) | 15.2 (59.4) | 12.3 (54.1) | 19.1 (66.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) | 8.7 (47.7) | 11.1 (52.0) | 12.9 (55.2) | 16.4 (61.5) | 19.2 (66.6) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.6 (70.9) | 19.3 (66.7) | 15.9 (60.6) | 11.1 (52.0) | 8.4 (47.1) | 14.5 (58.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) | 4.0 (39.2) | 6.1 (43.0) | 8.1 (46.6) | 11.7 (53.1) | 14.7 (58.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 16.9 (62.4) | 14.0 (57.2) | 11.1 (52.0) | 6.9 (44.4) | 4.6 (40.3) | 9.9 (49.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −13.3 (8.1) | −12.9 (8.8) | −8.0 (17.6) | −2.7 (27.1) | 1.0 (33.8) | 5.1 (41.2) | 7.5 (45.5) | 8.3 (46.9) | 3.8 (38.8) | −0.9 (30.4) | −6.6 (20.1) | −10.2 (13.6) | −13.3 (8.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 105.8 (4.17) | 85.2 (3.35) | 75.6 (2.98) | 97.4 (3.83) | 83.6 (3.29) | 67.6 (2.66) | 56.2 (2.21) | 74.6 (2.94) | 91.6 (3.61) | 116.9 (4.60) | 154.0 (6.06) | 116.6 (4.59) | 1,125.1 (44.30) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 13.0 | 11.0 | 11.1 | 12.8 | 11.2 | 8.7 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 9.0 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 129.9 |
| Source:Météo France[16] | |||||||||||||
In 2020, the town had 3,497 inhabitants, a decrease of 7.8% compared to 2012.
Historical population | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: EHESS[17] and INSEE (1968-2017)[18] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nazaré, Portugal.[7]
Taiʻarapu-Ouest,Tahiti, twinned in 2022.[3]
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