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.
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 and INSEE (1968-2017) |
Twin towns — sister cities
Soulac is twinned with:
See also
Saarburg, Germany (1972)
Ospedaletti, Liguria, Italy (1972)
Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma, Castile and León, Spain (1988)
Castlerea, Connacht, Ireland (1990)
