Sète

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Sète
Sète coat of arms
Sète (France)
Sète
region Occitania
Department Herault
Arrondissement Montpellier
Canton Sète
Community association Communauté d'agglomération du Bassin de Thau
Coordinates 43 ° 24 '  N , 3 ° 42'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 24 '  N , 3 ° 42'  E
height 0-176 m
surface 24.21 km 2
Residents 43,229 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 1,786 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 34200
INSEE code 34301
Website www.ville-sete.fr

Quay Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny

Sète or Sete [ sɛt ] (until January 19, 1928: Cette ; in the 17th and 18th centuries also spelled Sette , Septe , Cète , Cept ; Occitan : Seta [ˈseta]) is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of southern France . With 43,229 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), it is the third largest city in the Hérault department in the Occitania region . It is the main town and the only municipality in the canton of Sète .

Location and dates

Étang de Thau
Bascule bridge Pont du Tivoli

The city of Sète is located 32 km southwest of the city of Montpellier directly on the Mediterranean Sea on a narrow tongue of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the 18 km long lagoon Étang de Thau (also "Bassin de Thau"). Sète is surrounded by water on practically all sides and is therefore also known as the "Little Venice of Languedoc ". The center of the city is the Canal Royal (King's Canal), on which there are many souvenir shops and restaurants. Stylistically, the city is a mixture of Mediterranean styles with a clear Italian accent.

Sète has twelve bridges, including three bascule and two swing bridges . The "Haut" quarter, which stretches along the city hill, has retained its picturesque charm to this day. The 183 meter high town hill Mont Saint-Clair on the southern outskirts, a limestone cliff , offers panoramic views over the waters in all directions from the summit. The port has existed since July 1666, the patron saint of the port and city is Louis IX , who was canonized in 1297 .

On the way over the sand bank "Le Toc" to the town of Cap d'Agde , 19 km away southwest of Sète, there are 15 km of various sandy beaches that are used by locals and tourists for swimming in summer. In the course of history, fishing and wine-growing villages have settled around the Étang de Thau.

history

The Canal de la Peyrade flows into the Canal Royal - in the background the Palais consulaire , built in 1928 according to plans by Adolphe Dervaux , and until 2013 the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Tram on the swing bridge Pont de la Gare in front of the train station

At the end of the Bronze Age (1100–800 BC) the first traces can be found at the site of today's Sète. They were discovered in 1973 and are located in the Bassin de Thau, under 2 m water depth. In Sète, a fragment of a copper bar in the form of an ox skin (so-called ox skin bar ) was discovered, which was probably made in the late 12th or early 11th century BC. And which is probably an imitation of Cypriot oxhide bars produced in Sardinia . The name of the city appeared in ancient times with Ptolemy (Geography II, 10.2) as Σήτιον ὄρος (Mount Setion) and with Avienus (Ora maritima) as “Setius mons” with the same meaning and named today's Mont Saint-Clair. In the 16th century the place was hardly inhabited and the rock St. Clair served as a pirate refuge. King Henry IV planned to develop Cette by decree of 1596 into an export port for goods from Languedoc, but this was not implemented for unknown reasons. It was not until Louis XIV and his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert had the pier and port expanded. The first stone pier "Saint Louis" was officially built on July 29, 1666, and in 1684 the famous French fortress builder Vauban visited the city. In 1703 the St. Louis Church was consecrated. From July 24th to 29th, 1710, Cette was besieged and captured by a fleet of the English , but was liberated after a few hours by the troops of the Duke of Noailles , Adrien-Maurice de Noailles (1678–1766). In 1711 the fortifications of Saint Pierre and Butte Ronde (round hill) were completed, and in 1794 the town hall building was purchased. Further expansion of the fortress by the construction of the citadel Richelieu and the tower of Castellas took place in 1744. On June 9, 1839 got the city that was then always called Cette, with the opening of the railway line Montpellier-Cette connection to the railway network in the 1850s Years ago, Italian fishermen settled near Naples in order to find better living conditions. The Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1872 . In 1901, as part of the city's modernization, the city received an electric tram , which was closed in 1933 (see Sète tram ). Since January 20, 1928, the name of the city was set by ministerial decree to the current spelling Sète . In 1947 the Exodus left the port of Sète in front of the world public and British warships.

Population development

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2017
Residents 36,301 40,476 39,258 39,545 41,510 39,542 43.008 43,229
Sources: Cassini and INSEE

economy

Sète's economy is shaped by the port, which with its trade volume of 3.6 million tons (2005) on the French Mediterranean coast ranks second behind Marseille and eleventh overall in France. The port of Sète serves among other things the fishing ( sardines , mackerel and tuna ). Sète is the most important French fishing port on the Mediterranean. The morning return of the fishing trawler , which is accompanied by countless seagulls , gives a unique picture every day. Half of the fish auctioned on the fresh market in the fish auction hall at Vieux Port, the "Old Port", is sold to neighboring countries Spain and Italy . The port is also used for the export of wine and ferry traffic to North Africa .

Furthermore, the west side of the wastewater-free lagoon of the Étang de Thau (fed by the Canal du Midi with lime-rich water from the Pyrenees ) is an ideal place for oyster farming - 20 percent of French oyster production and mussel farming grow here .

For tourism, bathing tourism and the rental of houseboats are offered, with which one can drive without a license through the canals to Toulouse (through the Canal du Midi) or in the direction of the Rhône (Rhône-Sète Canal).

traffic

The open drawbridge Pont Maréchal Foch on the Bordeaux – Sète railway line

Sète can be easily reached by all means of transport.

Street

The French motorway A 9 runs near Sète, which branches off the Autoroute du Soleil A 7 at Orange and leads to the Spanish border. The city is connected to the motorway by the N 300.

Train connections

The electrified lines Bordeaux – Sète and Tarascon – Sète-Ville meet at Sète station . There are connections to Barcelona , Marseille , Lyon , Paris and Strasbourg .

Ship connections

There are ferry connections to Tangier and Nador in Morocco .

The Canal du Rhône à Sète (98 km) ends in Sète . Beyond the Étang de Thau begins the Canal du Midi , which leads to Toulouse .

Airport

The Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée is about 30 km away . This airport has connections in France and Europe (to Germany to Frankfurt-Hahn airport , Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf; close to the border to Basel airport).

Sète, city of culture

Attractions

  • Musée Paul Valery: Exhibition on the history of the city and the poet Paul Valéry . Immediately next to the museum is the “Cimetière marin”, which Valéry pays tribute to in one of his poems. There is also his grave.
  • Espace Georges Brassens: Museum dedicated to the memory of the singer and poet Georges Brassens. According to his wishes, he is also buried nearby, in the Le Py cemetery, which was laid out in 1877 .
  • Mont Saint-Clair: beautiful view of the city of Sète and the Étang de Thau.
  • Cimetière Marin with the tombs of Paul Valéry and Jean Vilar

Events

Joutes nautiques in Sète
Cimetière marin

Cultural events: The city celebrates annual cultural events and festivals in the “Théâtre de la Mer”, located directly on the sea.

Boat jump : on August 25th, since the port was opened in 1666, a boat jump (Joute Nautique "Fête de la Saint Louis") has traditionally been held in the "Canal Royal", in which two parties play a fighting game with their boats. It is about armed with a shield and lance from a small ship platform to push the opponent on his ship platform into the water. The fighters are accompanied by music on the traditional Languedoc oboe ( autbòi ) and the drum.

Culinary

The market hall of Sète and the fish restaurants are famous for their Mediterranean specialties, these are oysters, the "Tielles" (squid in a batter with tomato sauce), the "Aioli" (spicy garlic mayonnaise), the "Bourride" (typical fish soup with bread), the “rouille” (braised squid) and other types of seafood.

Sports

The FC Sète 34 (founded in 1900) was one of the most successful French football clubs between the world wars . In 1934 he became the first French football champion and cup winner in the same year (the so-called double ). The volleyball men of Arago de Sète play in the French first division ( Pro A ) and in the Champions League .

Twin cities

Personalities

Sète is the birth town of:

There are many painters' studios in the alleys of Sète. Four different museums are dedicated to the poets Georges Brassens and Paul Valéry. For people who love water, Sète is a place of artistic inspiration.

180 degree panoramic view over Sète

Web links

Commons : Sète  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ancien Palais Consulaire at pss-archi.eu, accessed on January 6, 2020
  2. ^ Fulvia Lo Schiavo: The oxhide ingot from Sète, Hérault (France). In: Fulvia Lo Schiavo, James D. Muhly, Robert Maddin, Alessandra Giumlia-Mair (eds.): Oxhide ingots in the Central Mediterranean , Rom 2009, pp. 421-430.
  3. ↑ Jacques Derogy: La Secrète et Véritable Histoire de l '"Exodus". La loi du back . Éditions Fayard, Paris 1969, p. 359.
  4. ↑ Horaires des Ferries | Port de Sète. Retrieved September 9, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Beate Taudte-Repp: Twenty-four stanzas for eternity, in: FAZ No. 77, April 1, 2010, p. R4.
  6. ↑ Beate Taudte-Repp: Twenty-four stanzas for eternity, in: FAZ No. 77, April 1, 2010, p. R4.