Soulac-sur-Mer

Soulac-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [sulak syʁ mɛʁ]; Occitan: Solac de Mar, [suˈlak de ˈmaɾ], lit. 'Soulac on Sea'), commonly known as Soulac (Solac), is a commune in the department of Gironde, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (formerly Aquitaine), France. It's a seaside resort on the Côte d'Argent, on the peninsula of Médoc, 12 km from Royan and 86 km from Bordeaux.

Soulac-sur-Mer Solac de Mar (Occitan)
Commune
Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-des-Terres Basilica, a UNESCO world heritage site since 1998
Coat of arms
Location of Soulac-sur-Mer
Soulac-sur-Mer Show map of France Soulac-sur-Mer Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 45°30′43″N 1°07′25″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Gironde
Arrondissement	Lesparre-Médoc
Canton	Le Nord-Médoc
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Xavier Pintat[1]
Area 1	28.89 km2 (11.15 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	2,922
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Soulacais, Soulacaise (French)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	33514 /33780
Elevation	0–25 m (0–82 ft) (avg. 12 m or 39 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

The history of the town remains relatively unknown before the medieval period. The town was for a time known as Noviomagus, mentioned by Ptolemy in his work Geography as being one of the two parts of a city held by the Bituriges Vivisques tribe, but this theory remains controversial in modern times. The territory of the town has been inhabited since the Neolithic period and through the Bronze Age, as shown by several archaeological discoveries. At the time, the configuration of the coasts differed. Soulac, today by the sea, was then located on the banks of the river. The town was at the end of an ancient route known as the Levade (or Lébade).

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 742 —     1800 673 −1.38% 1806 651 −0.55% 1821 656 +0.05% 1831 801 +2.02% 1836 768 −0.84% 1841 814 +1.17% 1846 840 +0.63% 1851 950 +2.49% 1856 1,101 +2.99% 1861 1,165 +1.14% 1866 1,315 +2.45% 1872 1,185 −1.72% 1876 716 −11.83% 1881 720 +0.11% 1886 813 +2.46% 1891 993 +4.08% 1896 1,349 +6.32%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,388 +0.57% 1906 1,601 +2.90% 1911 1,650 +0.60% 1921 1,672 +0.13% 1926 1,586 −1.05% 1931 2,043 +5.19% 1936 2,009 −0.34% 1946 1,883 −0.65% 1954 2,097 +1.35% 1962 2,113 +0.10% 1968 2,198 +0.66% 1975 2,387 +1.19% 1982 2,536 +0.87% 1990 2,790 +1.20% 1999 2,720 −0.28% 2007 2,679 −0.19% 2012 2,531 −1.13% 2017 2,811 +2.12%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Twin towns — sister cities

Soulac is twinned with:

• Saarburg, Germany (1972)
• Ospedaletti, Liguria, Italy (1972)
• Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma, Castile and León, Spain (1988)
• Castlerea, Connacht, Ireland (1990)

See also

• Communes of Gironde

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 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Soulac-sur-Mer, EHESS (in French).
4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE