Dax (Landes)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dax
Coat of arms of Dax
Dax (France)
Dax
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Country
Arrondissement Dax
Canton Dax-1 (main town)
Dax-2 (main town)
Community association Grand Dax
Coordinates 43 ° 42 ′  N , 1 ° 3 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 42 ′  N , 1 ° 3 ′  W
height 2–46 m
surface 19.70 km 2
Residents 20,681 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 1,050 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 40100
INSEE code 40088
Website www.dax.fr

Dax town hall
Dax Cathedral
The soldier with his dog
Entrance to the bullring
city ​​wall
Adour Bridge

Dax ( Gascon Dacs , in Roman times Aquae Tarbellicae ) is a French city near the Atlantic coast in the Landes department in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine and with 20,681 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) to Mont-de-Marsan , the second largest city in the department . The city is the seat of the sub-prefecture ( French Sous-préfecture ) of the Arrondissement Dax , which consists of nine cantons . Dax is the capital (French: chef-lieu) of the cantons Dax-1 and Dax-2 .

The city is traversed by the Adour .

Dax is the second largest spa town in France, known for its large, modern thermal baths.

History and sights

Dax is surrounded by some prehistoric sites. During construction work in the city center, traces of settlements from pre-Christian times were discovered and excavated. Of the 35 sites identified, 8 can be clearly assigned. Remains of the Roman buildings can still be found today. Until the 19th century, the city was surrounded by mighty Roman fortress walls, remains of which can be seen on the Place des Salines and in Parc Théodore Denis (near the bullring). The foundations of a Gallo-Roman temple from the 2nd century were uncovered in a crypt in the Rue Cazade , which was excavated by archaeologists .

The name of the city developed from the Latin aqua (water). In Roman times the place was called Aquae Tarbellicae (water of the Tarbelles , an Aquitaine tribe in this area) and over time it became Acqs (as in today's coat of arms), then d'Acqs .

La Fontaine Chaude

A particularly impressive testimony to the city's ancient history is the thermal fountain ( La Fontaine Chaude - The Hot Fountain) - also Source de la Nèhe : This structure was built in the 19th century on the site of a Roman thermal bath. The spring delivers 2.4 million liters of water every day at a temperature of 64 ° C. The water rises from a depth of 2000 m. The quarter of the meat and poultry traders used to be here. The housewives used the hot water to boil eggs and pluck their poultry.

  • La Fontaine Chaude
  • Dax-04.JPG
  • Dax-05.JPG
  • Dax-06.JPG

More Attractions

  • Notre-Dame Sainte-Marie Cathedral : The main church of the Roman Catholic diocese of Aire and Dax dates from the 17th century. Inside it has a magnificent 12 m high gate ( Gate of the Apostles ) of the previous church from the 13th century in the north transept .
  • In the square of the cathedral ( Place de la Cathédrale ) on the north side of the church, in the shade of centuries-old olive trees, stands the statue of the Roman legionnaire with his dog . According to tradition, the dog, who was seriously ill with rheumatism and could hardly walk, was abandoned by his master on the banks of the Adour and miraculously healed by the mud of the river.
  • The traditional weekly market has been held every Saturday morning on Roger Ducos Square (in front of the main entrance to the cathedral) since the 14th century . Right next to it is the market hall (closed on Mondays).
  • The church of St-Vincent-de-Xaintes from the end of the 19th century.
  • The 1913 bullring in Parc Théodore Denis has a capacity of 8,000 spectators.
  • In this park there are also remains of the Gallo-Roman city wall from the 4th century. It was reinforced by 38 towers and had a circumference of 1465 m, a height of 12 m and a thickness of 4.5 m. For centuries they protected the city from the aggressions of the barbarians, Spaniards, English and French. In 1652 the city wall became an important protection against the riots of the Fronde . At the end of the 19th century, the wall was razed despite heavy resistance. Two remains of the wall remained: at the Place des Salines and at Parc Théodore Denis .
  • Le Balcon d'Adour is a 300 m long pedestrian promenade on the banks of the Adour. This is where the Splendid Hotel , a masterpiece of Art Deco from the 1930s, and the Kurhaus ( Résidence des Thermes ) from 1992 by the architect Jean Nouvel are located . There are 250 parking spaces under the promenade in the immediate vicinity of the city center.
  • Rue de Toro: Here on October 14, 1894, a bull that escaped from the arena during a bullfight was killed by the "torero" Paul Nassiet, a confidante of the French matador . A plaque at this point reminds of this. Since then, the street has been called Rue de Toro . (Street sign and plaque differ in the day.)
  • Square Max Moras: In this park, named in honor of Mayor Moras (1907–1984), mayor from 1959 to 1977, right behind the cathedral, there is a pillar in memory of those who fell in the two world wars and several other memorial stones in honor of people related to the wars.
  • The Gazelle house , in which the famous Madeleines have been baked and touted according to a "secret recipe" since 1907 , is located on Rue Cazade .
  • The Adour Bridge with the scale of the high water marks.
  • The Musée de l'Aviation légère de l'armée de terre et de l'hélicoptère , the museum of French army aviators with a focus on helicopters, is located in the south of the city on the edge of the airfield.

Spa town

The Adour provides the Dax thermal mud with its silt . The peloid therapy for which the city is famous is based on him .

Town twinning

Dax has had a town partnership with Logroño (Rioja) in Spain since 1963 .

Sports

  • Since 1951, Dax has been a stage destination of the Tour de France cycle race from Agen and Bordeaux four times .
  • The city's best-known sports club is the US Dax rugby club , which plays in rugby union and is represented in the top 14 French rugby league .

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Personalities related to the city

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brochure of the traffic and bathing office of the city of Dax