LANDES INFORMATION
LANDES Geography
Landes (Occitan: Lanas) is a département in southern France.
Landes is part of the current region of Aquitaine and is surrounded by the départements of Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, as well as the Atlantic Ocean on the west, in the region of Midi-Pyrénées by the department of Gers. With an area stretching over more than 9000 km², Landes is, after Gironde, the second largest department of the metropolitan French territory.
It is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach which is Europe's longest, and attracts many surfers to Mimizan and Hossegor each year.
Côte d'Argent: In south west of France, facing the Atlantic Ocean, "La Côte d'Argent" is part of the Bay of Biscay. It is limited at its north by the Gironde mouth and at its south by the river Adour.
Mimizan: Mimizan was part of the former royal province of Gascony. In the Middle Ages, the town was a stop on a secondary pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. The size and beauty of the old church highlights the importance of the place at this time. The town turned into a seaside resort during the Belle Epoque thanks to the railway connection (which no longer exists) and to the growing trend of sea bathing, beneficial to the health of those suffering from tuberculosis.
Hossegor: Soorts-Hossegor is a commune in the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France.
It is well known as a seaside resort and surfing center, considered as one of the best surfing locales in the world. The city's economy is centered around surfing.
Recently Hossegor has become one of the premier surfing locations in Europe, with a series of world class beach breaks such as Gravière, La Nord, Capbreton, La Piste and Seignosse. It supports a thriving nightlife through the summer, centered at La Plage Centrale. It holds the Quiksilver Pro France contest every year in September.
Until 1310, the mouth of the Adour was in the district of Capbreton-Hossegor. When the Vikings attacked the area in 840, they settled immediately in the deserted swamps around the mouth. At that time, the chief of the invaders was Asgeir. He gave his name to Hossegor and also to the next village Angresse.
Asgeir did not stay in Gascony where Björn, his half-brother, settled, but tried with Pepin II d'Aquitaine to conquer Aquitaine between Garonne and Loire. His main camp on the Charente River also wears his name.
Hossegor remained a whale hunting place until the 14th century. Hossegor is a part of the little town of Soorts whose name is also Scandinavian. Soorts has the same origin as Sortosville in Normandy.
LANDES History
Landes is one of the original 83 départements that were created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.
The Nobel Prize winning novelist François Mauriac set his novels in the Landes.
LANDES Economics
In terms of agriculture, Landes is known for its large pine forests which are the raw material for a timber and resin industries in the region. The forests were planted in the early nineteenth century to prevent erosion of the region's sandy soil by the sea.
LANDES Administration
Department number : 40
Region : Aquitaine
Prefecture : Mont-de-Marsan
Subprefectures : Dax
Arrondissements : 2
Cantons : 30
Communes : 331
LANDES HOLIDAY RENTALS in AQUITAINE Region
MORE THAN 10.000 B&B in all France
MORE THAN 10.000 Gîtes in all France
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