Place:Mimizan, Landes, France

source: Family History Library Catalog

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Mimizan is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. There are two separate districts of the town: Mimizan-Bourg (town center) and Mimizan-Plage (resort).

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Origins

In Neolithic times, the countries of the oceanic fringe were populated by people who hunted and fished, leaving archaeological evidence behind. At the end of the Neolithic Age, small groups of farmers began to settle. During the first Iron Age (7th to 5th c. BC), small tribes who can be considered as proto-Celts, settled in the area. The presence of a civilization called the Boïens installed in the Buch countryside and who moved down to Born country have also been recorded. However, these small tribes were not deeply implanted in the Lande. When the Romans invaded the Aquitaine, they discovered tribes quite distinct from these Celtic tribes, more like the Iberians, organized in ethnic groups known under the name of the Novempopulania.

At the end of the third century the region under Rome’s rule organized itself into one province: Aquitania Tertia. It would be lined with roads listed in the Antonine Itinerary, which in the early fourth century retraced the Roman routes, symbols of an economic opening, e.g., the "coastal" path and the railway station of Segosa (Saint-Paul-le-Vieux). In Born and Marensin, the bays which had not yet been closed off by dunes obviously served as ports that permitted trade and commerce, such as that of resin collected in the ancient dune forests.

The period of barbarian invasion was subject to controversy because several legends took birth there (like at Mimizan that at the battle where St. Galatoire perished under the assault of invaders). However, it was unquestionably after the Roman era the invasion of sand forming modern dunes saw the closure of bays and then the ruin of little ports. Among the people that we meet between the 5th and 10th centuries are the Gascons. In 602 the name Vasconia appeared for the first time, to describe the countryside situated between Garonne and the Pyrenees. The Carolingian influence transformed Vasconia into Gascogne. Next the country was to face the Norman invasions.

The Medieval Era

The Aquitaine duchy sprawling out from the Loire to the Pyrenees was constructed in the 11th century. It was also from this time on, and for seven centuries, that the pilgrimage to saint Jacques de Compostelle began. Pilgrims came from all over Europe crossing the Landes. They followed itineraries that outlined resting stops, places of worship, castles or mottes surrounded by stakes. They used three routes including that of the coast. A number of commandaries or hospitals erected by the Templars or the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (e.g., Contis, Saint-Paul-en-Born, Parentis, etc.) were regrouped on this coast road. Mimizan was created as a Sauveté (a sacred refuge created by the church for the protection of the weak). Its limits were set by nine monumental posts (safety posts) in the form of pyramids. Today, only five still exist and are classified as historical monuments. If the first mention of salvitas (sauvetat) did not appear until 1270, the term frangitas was employed during 1009–1032. In 1154, the Aquitaine Duchy entered into the Kingdom of England by the marriage of Alinéor (Eleanor) of Aquitaine with Henri II Plantagenêt, and remained so up to 1453. Born was part of the diocese of Bordeaux. The large Albret family played on the rivalry between the King of France and the King-Duke. They came from the heart of the Landais countryside and carried the modest title of senhor of Labrit up to 1312, then through purchases, marriages, and inheritances went on to settle in Marensin and Born and then Bazadais. In writings the name of another family who would go on to mark history also appears: Foix-Béarn.

The Belle Epoque

After 1890, the construction of railway tracks opened up the country. The forges closed down one by one but sawmills and distilleries of resin products multiplied. The renewal of Landes, desired by the Emperor Napoleon III, the arrival of the trains of the Mediterranean Railway Companies (from 1907 up to 1960), the trend of bathing in the sea inspired by the Empress Eugenie and the benefits of the sea air on the health of those with tuberculosis all aided in the rapid expansion of the seaside resort of Mimizan-Plage (first called Mimizan-les-Bains). The town is graced with a sea-bathing establishment constructed out of wood. This drew a number of tourists and contributed to the fame of Mimizan. One of the events to mark this period was the passage of a caravan named by the journalist and writer Maurice Martin and driven by Maurice Vignau and Alphonse Bacon. It traveled around Landes from Arcachon to trace a route for automobiles toward Biarritz. Maurice Martin was in awe of the beauty of the countryside (sky, ocean, forest) and would during a banquet on 20 March 1905 baptize the place "La Côte d’Argent" (The Silver Coast).

Château Woolsack, "A Royal Shrine at the Edge of the Lake" In 1911 Hughes Richard Arthur Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, had this sublime building erected as a royal reward in recognition of his bravery during the Boer War. Designed by architects Detmar Blow and Fernand Billerey, Woolsack Castle welcomed numerous famous people during the interwar period. For 10 years Coco Chanel came here to relax, sometimes in the company of the seamstresses of her workshop to whom she offered this dream holiday in a villa situated at Mimizan-Plage (now Pylone holiday camp): paid holiday before its time! Charlie Chaplin, Salvador Dalí, Suzanne Leglen all came in their time to profit from this jewel of Victorian architecture. Winston Churchill, a close friend of the Duke’s, even painted some 20 paintings on the banks of Lake Aureilhan. After its purchase by the Gascogne Group, the Woolsack Castle is today privately owned.

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