Dax, Landes

Dax
Subprefecture and commune
La Fontaine Chaude
Coat of arms
Location of Dax
Dax Show map of France Dax Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°43′N1°03′W / 43.71°N 1.05°W / 43.71; -1.05
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Landes
Arrondissement	Dax
Canton	Dax-1 and 2
Intercommunality	CA Grand Dax
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Julien Dubois [1]
Area 1	19.70 km2 (7.61 sq mi)
Population  (2021) [2]	21,347
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	40088 /40100
Elevation	2–46 m (6.6–150.9 ft) (avg. 9 m or 30 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Dax (French pronunciation: [daks] ; Occitan : Dacs; Basque : Akize) is a commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France, sub-prefecture of the Landes department. ^[3]

It is known as a spa destination, specialising in mud treatment for rheumatism and similar ailments. Dax is also known for its bullfighting culture, especially during the August ferias, one of the most crowded festival events in France with 800,000 people attending over five days. ^[4] It is also a market town, former bishopric and busy local centre, especially for the Chalosse area.

Geography

Dax lies on the river Adour, 30 km (19 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean and 42 km (26 mi) northwest of Bayonne. Dax station has rail connections to Paris, Hendaye, Tarbes, Bordeaux, Bayonne and Pau.

History

It was established by the Romans, and its reputation is supposed to date from a visit by Julia, the daughter of the first Emperor Octavian Augustus. Its Roman name was Civitas Aquensium. In the Middle Ages, it was administered by viscounts until 1177. From the acquisition of Aquitaine in 1152 by Henry II Plantagenet, later King of England, Dax remained under English rule until 1451, when it was conquered by French troops before the end of the Hundred Years' War. It successfully withstood a Spanish siege in 1521-1522.

Splendid Hotel, 1928

Neurisse Hotel, XVII century.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,391 —     1800 3,398 +0.03% 1806 3,179 −1.10% 1821 4,948 +2.99% 1831 4,716 −0.48% 1836 4,776 +0.25% 1841 5,842 +4.11% 1846 5,615 −0.79% 1851 5,805 +0.67% 1856 6,125 +1.08% 1861 9,856 +9.98% 1866 9,469 −0.80% 1872 9,062 −0.73% 1876 10,250 +3.13% 1881 10,218 −0.06% 1886 10,858 +1.22% 1891 10,240 −1.17% 1896 10,196 −0.09% 1901 10,329 +0.26%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1906 11,210 +1.65% 1911 11,387 +0.31% 1921 11,047 −0.30% 1926 12,385 +2.31% 1931 12,663 +0.44% 1936 13,056 +0.61% 1946 14,113 +0.78% 1954 14,557 +0.39% 1962 17,051 +2.00% 1968 19,348 +2.13% 1975 19,137 −0.16% 1982 18,648 −0.37% 1990 19,309 +0.44% 1999 19,515 +0.12% 2007 20,860 +0.84% 2012 20,364 −0.48% 2017 20,681 +0.31% 2019 20,843 +0.39%
Source: EHESS [5] and INSEE (1968-2017) [6]

Climate

Climate data for Dax (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1958–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	24.0 (75.2)	27.2 (81.0)	30.1 (86.2)	32.7 (90.9)	36.2 (97.2)	40.3 (104.5)	40.8 (105.4)	41.1 (106.0)	39.0 (102.2)	34.7 (94.5)	28.1 (82.6)	23.9 (75.0)	41.1 (106.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	11.7 (53.1)	13.2 (55.8)	16.6 (61.9)	18.6 (65.5)	21.9 (71.4)	24.9 (76.8)	26.9 (80.4)	27.5 (81.5)	24.9 (76.8)	20.8 (69.4)	15.0 (59.0)	12.0 (53.6)	19.5 (67.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	7.5 (45.5)	8.3 (46.9)	11.2 (52.2)	13.3 (55.9)	16.7 (62.1)	19.8 (67.6)	21.6 (70.9)	21.9 (71.4)	19.2 (66.6)	15.6 (60.1)	10.7 (51.3)	8.0 (46.4)	14.5 (58.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	3.3 (37.9)	3.3 (37.9)	5.8 (42.4)	8.0 (46.4)	11.4 (52.5)	14.6 (58.3)	16.4 (61.5)	16.4 (61.5)	13.4 (56.1)	10.5 (50.9)	6.4 (43.5)	4.0 (39.2)	9.5 (49.1)
Record low °C (°F)	−16.2 (2.8)	−9.5 (14.9)	−8.3 (17.1)	−2.8 (27.0)	0.3 (32.5)	3.8 (38.8)	3.4 (38.1)	6.8 (44.2)	2.2 (36.0)	−1.7 (28.9)	−7.2 (19.0)	−10.2 (13.6)	−16.2 (2.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	112.6 (4.43)	89.7 (3.53)	85.6 (3.37)	103.9 (4.09)	92.7 (3.65)	73.7 (2.90)	62.7 (2.47)	63.3 (2.49)	88.9 (3.50)	108.3 (4.26)	156.6 (6.17)	117.2 (4.61)	1,155.2 (45.48)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	12.5	10.4	10.6	12.7	11.6	8.5	7.8	8.1	8.9	10.8	13.4	12.1	127.4
Average relative humidity (%)	87	82	78	79	79	79	78	81	82	87	88	89	82.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours	90.3	111.7	163.2	172.5	199.0	207.6	226.3	221.6	197.3	145.3	94.7	84.2	1,913.7
Source 1: Meteociel [7]
Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity, 1961–1990) [8]

Sights

Place de la cathédrale.

• Roman archaeological crypt, including the foundations of a Roman temple from the second century AD
• Remains of the Gallic-Roman walls (4th century)
• Cathedral of Notre-Dame Ste-Marie
• Church of Saint-Vincent-de-Xaintes
• Fontaine Chaude ("Hot Fountain")
• Château de Dax, former castle where is now Hôtel Splendid  [ fr ]

Sports

The US Dax rugby club founded in 1904 is an important historical team, as many other town in south west of France. Many famous French rugby players comes from Dax and its suburbs such as Pierre Albaladejo, Raphaël Ibanez, or Richard Dourthe for example.

Twin towns

• Logroño, Spain

Personalities

• Maurice Boyau, ace of the First World War who spent most of his life in Dax
• Jean-Charles de Borda, mathematician
• Vincent de Paul, theologian born in a village near Dax
• Victor Denain, aviator and politician
• Roger Ducos, politician born in Dax
• Patrick Edlinger, rock climber
• Brigitte Lovisa Fouché, painter
• Laurent Fressinet, chess player
• Raphaël Ibañez, rugby player
• Christophe Lamaison, rugby player
• Émile Magne (1877–1953), art historian and literary critic
• Patrick Pendanx (1975-), footballer

See also

• Diocese of Dax
• Guiraude de Dax
• US Dax, a French rugby union club based in Dax.
• Dacquoise

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. INSEE commune file
4. "Dax : Sécurité renforcée pour la féria".
5. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Dax, EHESS (in French).
6. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
7. "Normales et records pour Dax (40)". Meteociel. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
8. "Normes et records 1961-1990: Dax-Seyresse (40) - altitude 31m" (in French). Infoclimat. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2015.

External links

• Official website (in French)
• "Dax"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. VI (9th ed.). 1878. p. 848.
• Dax Cathedral ^[usurped]
• Dax Cathedral