La Teste-de-Buch
La Tèsta (Occitan)
Commune
Dune of Pilat
Dune of Pilat
Coat of arms of La Teste-de-Buch
Coat of arms
Location of La Teste-de-Buch
Map
La Teste-de-Buch is located in France
La Teste-de-Buch
La Teste-de-Buch
La Teste-de-Buch is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
La Teste-de-Buch
La Teste-de-Buch
Coordinates: 44°37′12″N 1°08′45″W / 44.620°N 01.145711°W / 44.620; -01.145711
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentGironde
ArrondissementArcachon
CantonLa Teste-de-Buch
IntercommunalityCA Bassin d'Arcachon Sud
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Patrick Davet[1]
Area
1
180.20 km2 (69.58 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
26,556
 • Density150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
33529 /33260
Elevation0–101 m (0–331 ft)
(avg. 4 m or 13 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

La Teste-de-Buch (French pronunciation: [la tɛst də byʃ]; Occitan: La Tèsta (de Bug), [la ˈtɛstə (ðe ˈβyc)]; lit. "La Teste-of-Buch") is a coastal commune in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in Southwestern France. Until 13 June 1994, it was officially known simply as La Teste.[3]

The commune is located on the south shore of Arcachon Bay (Bassin d'Arcachon) and on the Atlantic coast of France, lying in the southwestern part of Gironde, on the departmental border with Landes. It is the eighth-largest commune in metropolitan France in geographical area at 180.20 km2 (69.58 sq mi). It is the largest and most populated of the four communes that make up the Communauté d'agglomération Bassin d'Arcachon Sud (COBAS), which coincides with the urban unit (agglomeration) of La Teste-de-Buch-Arcachon,[4] population 67,563 (2018).[5] La Teste-de-Buch proper had a population of 26,269 as of 2020.[4]

La Teste-de-Buch is famous for the Dune of Pilat (Dune du Pilat), the highest sand dune in Europe. It is also the site of a fictional battle during the Napoleonic wars depicted in Sharpe's Siege by Bernard Cornwell.

Geography

La Teste-de-Buch is located in the department of Gironde, in the middle of the Landes forest, and south of Arcachon Bay. It is the capital of the Pays de Buch. Neighbouring communes are Gujan-Mestras to the east, Arcachon to the northwest, and Biscarosse and Sanguinet to the south.

The Dune of Pilat is a famous landmark on the Atlantic coast, situated in the western corner of the commune. The seaside resort of Pyla-sur-Mer, the village of Cazaux, the bird refuge and sandbank of Arguin are also part of the town.

The Étang de Cazaux et de Sanguinet is in the southeast corner, astride the departments of Gironde and Landes. The rest of the commune area consists of old dunes, where the natural forest has changed little over centuries.

During World War I, an airfield was created near Cazaux for airplane pilots training (fighters and bombers). Most of the American volunteers pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille came to the "Camp de Cazaux" to finish their training as war pilots. When the U.S entered the war, the 36th Aero Squadron was based here.

Climate

La Teste-de-Buch features an oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen system, closely bordering on a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Csb) due to the lack of rain in july compared to november, the wettest month of the year. Winters are cool and wet, while summers are hot but bearable. However, cold snaps in winter or heat spikes in summer are rare but not unknown.

Climate data for La Teste-de-Buch (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1921–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 22.0
(71.6) 		25.0
(77.0) 		28.6
(83.5) 		22.1
(71.8) 		35.1
(95.2) 		40.2
(104.4) 		39.8
(103.6) 		42.0
(107.6) 		38.4
(101.1) 		31.4
(88.5) 		25.2
(77.4) 		22.8
(73.0) 		42.0
(107.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.9
(51.6) 		12.2
(54.0) 		15.2
(59.4) 		17.0
(62.6) 		20.8
(69.4) 		23.7
(74.7) 		26.0
(78.8) 		26.3
(79.3) 		24.0
(75.2) 		19.8
(67.6) 		14.4
(57.9) 		11.2
(52.2) 		18.5
(65.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.7
(44.1) 		7.4
(45.3) 		9.9
(49.8) 		11.8
(53.2) 		15.5
(59.9) 		18.5
(65.3) 		20.6
(69.1) 		20.6
(69.1) 		18.0
(64.4) 		14.8
(58.6) 		10.0
(50.0) 		7.2
(45.0) 		13.4
(56.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.5
(36.5) 		2.5
(36.5) 		4.5
(40.1) 		6.6
(43.9) 		10.3
(50.5) 		13.3
(55.9) 		15.1
(59.2) 		15.0
(59.0) 		12.1
(53.8) 		9.7
(49.5) 		5.6
(42.1) 		3.2
(37.8) 		8.4
(47.1)
Record low °C (°F) −15.7
(3.7) 		−13.7
(7.3) 		−9.6
(14.7) 		−3.7
(25.3) 		−1.8
(28.8) 		3.6
(38.5) 		5.0
(41.0) 		3.5
(38.3) 		−0.7
(30.7) 		−4.0
(24.8) 		−8.4
(16.9) 		−12.5
(9.5) 		−15.7
(3.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 95.5
(3.76) 		74.9
(2.95) 		66.4
(2.61) 		79.6
(3.13) 		62.0
(2.44) 		56.4
(2.22) 		46.9
(1.85) 		59.1
(2.33) 		77.8
(3.06) 		99.9
(3.93) 		120.8
(4.76) 		107.0
(4.21) 		946.3
(37.26)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 12.7 10.5 11.2 11.6 10.0 7.6 7.3 7.7 8.9 11.8 13.3 12.4 124.9
Average snowy days 0.7 1.1 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 2.8
Average relative humidity (%) 86 83 79 77 77 77 76 77 79 84 87 88 80.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 99.9 115.1 177.1 192.7 226.7 245.7 255.9 244.5 210.6 148.4 99.3 85.6 2,101.3
Source 1: Météo France[6]
Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (snowy days and humidity 1961–1990)[7]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 2,000—    
1800 2,301+2.02%
1806 2,306+0.04%
1821 2,409+0.29%
1831 2,840+1.66%
1836 2,986+1.01%
1841 3,447+2.91%
1846 3,512+0.37%
1851 3,399−0.65%
1856 3,891+2.74%
1861 3,601−1.54%
1866 4,259+3.41%
1872 4,462+0.78%
1876 5,314+4.47%
1881 6,063+2.67%
1886 6,200+0.45%
1891 6,480+0.89%
1896 6,663+0.56%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 6,840+0.53%
1906 7,082+0.70%
1911 7,023−0.17%
1921 6,321−1.05%
1926 7,815+4.33%
1931 8,826+2.46%
1936 9,496+1.47%
1946 9,066−0.46%
1954 11,281+2.77%
1962 11,085−0.22%
1968 15,064+5.24%
1975 15,831+0.71%
1982 18,038+1.88%
1990 20,331+1.51%
1999 22,970+1.37%
2007 24,616+0.87%
2012 24,952+0.27%
2017 26,078+0.89%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS[8] and INSEE (1968–2017)[9]

Economy

From the medieval period until the late 1980s, the municipality thrived on resin exploitation.[10]

Today, the primary economic activities of the municipality include tourism, predominantly, along with oyster farming and shipbuilding. Several businesses headquartered in La Teste-de-Buch include, for example, the engine manufacturer Nanni Diesel, the ice cream parlor Ô Sorbet d'amour, and the coffee retailer MaxiCoffee.

The municipality has a delegation from the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

International relations

La Teste-de-Buch is twinned with

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 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Fac-similé JO numéro 135 du 12/06/1994, page 08505 | Legifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b Commune de La Teste-de-Buch (33529)
  5. ^ Comparateur de territoire, INSEE.
  6. ^ "Cazaux (33)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Normes et records 1961-1990: Cazaux - La Teste de Buch (33) - altitude 23m" (in French). Infoclimat. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  8. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet La Teste-de-Buch, EHESS (in French).
  9. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  10. ^ "Bassin d'Arcachon : la véritable histoire de la forêt usagère".

External links

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