birth of a station

The commune is the result of a curious paradox. At the dawn of a century, some artists and intellectuals discover a corner of untouched nature as they celebrate a new Eden. But their enthusiasm, which has aroused the interest of financiers and developers, soon attracts the Paris to this site previously wild, giving rise to a new city, architecture profoundly original, where the worldly now vying to practice of "elegant sports.

Between 1893 and 1909 moved people like Mathias Morhardt, literary and artistic criticism of "Time" ( "Le Monde" today); Justin Boex said Rosny Jeune, writer and Goncourt Academy since its inception in 1903 ; Maxime Leroy, judge and writer, Maurice Martin, columnist for the Petite Gironde, adventurer and sportsman Emeritus, Paul Marguerite, Goncourt novelist and academician since its inception in 1903.
The group played mostly by the reputation of its members and the role of some of them in the "Association of Friends of the Lake", created in 1909. Better than a circle, it is through it that they remain attentive to the development of Hossegor and seek to influence its choices essential.

Throughout these years, Hossegor is fashionable. It must seem, to spend a few days, a fraction of the Tout-Paris is coming on vacation. You can taste the biggest shows, see princes of blood. The arts are not left out: letters, drama, dance, music, painting, sculpture and even film to another fancy dress balls, fashion shows, car rally (Paris-Hossegor) etc.
Throughout those years, from 1930 to 1939, the presence of men of letters and artists who reside and remain in Hossegor adds an aura to the cultural reputation of the site. François Mauriac, Francis Planté, Maurice Ravel, Léon Blum, Paul Claudel, Gabrielle d'Annunzio ... testify to the inspiration they have found.

the invention of an architectural style

In the architectural eclecticism that characterizes resorts, Hossegor is characterized by unity and originality of style which little is known about equivalent. Born between the wars, the station served as a laboratory for innovative architects who, by combining modern technology and inspired by the region, created the style basco-landais.
Five architects, all trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, with the exception of Louis Lagrange, play a major role in the development of the station, whose leader was Henri Godbarge.
This native of Bordeaux became the theorist style Basque-Landes. He directed in collaboration with the Gomez brothers, the Sporting-Casino, the Hôtel du Lac etc.
Louis and Benjamin Gomez build a set of residential waterfront unfolding on both sides of the Place des Landais, and the villa Julia. Benjamin Gomez focuses on decoration and furniture.
Robert Maurice is the author of the villa Delos then thirty other houses art deco influences, such as villas Matuszeck and Sylmina.
Louis Lagrange Finally, very little academic as evidenced by the villa Adichats introduces references Hispanic, borrowed from the Mudejar art and the Spanish Renaissance.
Hossegor must be one of the places where the confrontation between the genius of the place and the spirit of the times, between the core areas and modernity, has given the best of itself, says Claude Laroche, photographer, architect and author of several books on aesthetics hossegorienne.
Approximately four hundred houses were built in the period between the wars, based on a logic which combines the architectural interest in the love of a website that everyone describes as magical, and a regional identity strong.

A presentation of the city written by Gérard Maignan - historian

Hossegor enjoys a privileged location on the Côte d'Argent

 

Hossegor, about 3 600 inhabitants, is located between Bordeaux, 160 km north and Biarritz, with its international airport, 25 kilometers south.