La Grande-Motte
La Grande-Motte | ||
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region | Occitania | |
Department | Herault | |
Arrondissement | Montpellier | |
Canton | Mauguio | |
Community association | Pays de l'Or | |
Coordinates | 43 ° 34 ' N , 4 ° 5' E | |
height | 0-3 m | |
surface | 10.58 km 2 | |
Residents | 8,820 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 834 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 34280 | |
INSEE code | 34344 | |
Website | www.lagrandemotte.fr |
La Grande-Motte is a municipality with 8,820 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region .
geography
La Grande-Motte is located 25 kilometers from Montpellier on the Golfe du Lion ( Mediterranean Sea ). The city is also accessed by the Canal du Rhône à Sète .
Population development
year | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2011 | 2017 | ||
Residents | 2165 | 3939 | 5016 | 6458 | 8488 | 8820 | ||
Sources: Cassini and INSEE |
history
The current territory of La Grande-Motte is an old part of the municipality of Mauguio . The soil of the place consists on the one hand of former vineyards, which were replaced by a tree nursery in 1956 and 1958 due to their low profitability, and on the other hand of old marshland, which served as pasture for a manade ("bull farm"). From the 1960s, the tourist resort of La Grande-Motte with a marina , holiday apartments and campsites emerged from nowhere . The aim was to divert tourist flows from the Spanish seaside resorts here. It was founded as an independent municipality on October 1, 1974.
The city's landmarks are the “pyramids” created by architect Jean Balladur , terraced high-rise buildings based on the model of Aztec step pyramids , which are mostly used as holiday apartments, as well as Point Zéro (“zero point”), which is at sea level ( 0 m ) and at the same time Point of the city's foundation.
A pupil of Jean Balladur designed the district of Motte du Couchant , whose residential complexes stand out due to the use of round shapes and curved silhouettes.