Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is a commune in the Vendéedepartment in the Pays de la Loireregion in western France. It is situated on the Côte de Lumière. The community originated in 1967 from the unification of two communities on either side of the estuary of the river the Vie, Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie and Croix-de-Vie. Known for its important fishing harbor, since 1982 Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is also classified as a seaside resort.
History
In the ninth century, the monks of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard settled in what was then called Sidunum, a priory and a fortified church. In the Middle Ages, the city, organized around the main street became an important port, capable of accommodating ships with a capacity of one hundred tons. Croix-de-Vie appeared on the right bank of the Vie, when the Duke of Montausier granted Saint-Gilles plots of land on the "small island" so they could build their homes. In 1610, Marie Beaucaire built the large pier and the wharf and then a chapel from 1611 to 1613. This building was used for worship until the construction of Sainte-Croix Church in 1896 which is used today. In 1622, King Louis XIII of France spent dinner one night in Croix de Vie, in a mansion located what is now in General de Gaulle street. Although Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie was three hours from Nantes and ten hours from Paris, the development of railways from the 1880s increasingly allowed holidaymakers to reach the seaside town. A trade union initiative was created in 1922. On 23 January 1967, Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie and Croix-de-Vie merged to create the new municipality of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. The fusion was the idea of Marcel Ragon and Charles Grasset. Ragon became the first mayor of the new municipality while the latter, who had served as deputy mayor of Croix-de-Vie from March 1965 until December 1966, went on to serve under Ragon as deputy mayor of the new municipality until 1995. In 1982, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie was classified as a resort.
The meteorological measurements began in 1877 in Saint-Gilles. The climate of the Vendée department is oceanic. The coast experiences significant rainfall in winter and a few storms. Under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is cool in summer. However, the Vendée is one of the sunniest departments of France in terms of the energy received, with 1268 kWh per m² per year.
Culture
Religion
The town has two Catholic churches, the churches of Saint-Gilles et Sainte-Croix. Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie is part of the diocese of Luçon, which is part of the Ecclesiastical province of Rennes. It is the seat of a deanery of four parishes: Sainte Anne de Riez, Saint Jean du Gué Gorand, Saint Nicolas de l'Océan, and Notre Dame de la Vie. The latter, Notre Dame de la Vie, has four bell towers—in the churches of Saint-Gilles and Sainte-Croix, as well as those of Fenouiller and Givrand. In the middle of the sixteenth century, a protestant church was founded in Saint-Gilles-sur-Vie; it was destroyed in November 1665, as one of seventeen protestant churches in the Bas-Poitou, the region that corresponds to today's Vendée.
The Brotherhood of the Sardine
The Brotherhood of the Sardine was founded in 1991. Headed by a grandmaster, it is devoted to the promotion of the seaside resort and the celebration of products from the sea, especially the sardine, which has become a speciality of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. Notable "sympathizers" include sailor Michel Desjoyeaux, actress Isabel Otero, and the former Prime Minister of FranceFrançois Fillon.
