Saint-Raphaël, Var

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Saint-Raphaël
Sant Rafèu (Occitan)
Commune
Vue du vieux port de Saint-Raphael depuis la grande roue.jpg
View of the old port of Saint-Raphaël from the Ferris wheel in 2021.
Blason ville fr Saint-Raphael (Var).svg
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Raphaël
Saint-Raphael, Var
France location map-Regions and departements-2016.svg
Red pog.svg
Saint-Raphaël
Provence-Alpes-Cotes d'Azur region location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Saint-Raphaël
Coordinates: 43°25′31″N6°46′06″E / 43.4252°N 6.7684°E / 43.4252; 6.7684
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Var
Arrondissement Draguignan
Canton Saint-Raphaël
Intercommunality Estérel Côte d'Azur Agglomération
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Frédéric Masquelier [1]
Area
1
89.59 km2 (34.59 sq mi)
Population
 (2022) [2]
36,632
 • Density410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
83118 /83700 and 83530
Elevation0–560 m (0–1,837 ft)
(avg. 10 m or 33 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Raphaël (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ʁafaɛl] ⓘ ; Occitan : Sant RafèuOccitan pronunciation: [ˈsanraˈfɛw] ) is a commune in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern France.

Contents

Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies a larger and older town, Fréjus; together they form an urban agglomeration known as Var Estérel Méditerranée, which also encompasses the smaller communes of Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Puget-sur-Argens and Roquebrune-sur-Argens. In the second half of the 19th century, the township came under the influence of Mayor Felix Martin and writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr; owing to their efforts and its beneficial climate the commune developed into a seaside resort popular with artists, sportsmen and politicians.

It is the seat of the canton of Saint-Raphaël, also encompassing Fréjus and Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, which is the economic and cultural centre of Eastern Var, within the arrondissement of Draguignan. Its inhabitants are called Raphaëlois in French generally, or Rafelencs in Provençal Occitan.

History

In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte and his forces arrived by ship from Egypt, prior to his coup d'état in Paris, and landed at a fishing village that was the commune of Saint-Raphaël. [3]

The coastal double-track rail link between Saint-Raphaël and Nice passes over a substantial viaduct constructed right on the shoreline at Anthéor. These tracks were of strategic importance to the Axis forces during World War II for supplying material to units in France.

There were three separate air raids made on this viaduct from England, between September 1943 and February 1944, involving a total of thirty-one Lancaster bombers operating some seven hundred miles from base. Aircraft of the second raid flew on to Rabat, and from the third raid on to Sardinia. One Lancaster from the first raid was lost, and a flight lieutenant bomb aimer on the third raid was killed by enemy fire, some of which came from ships at sea. All the raids failed in their objective and the rail link was not severed. [4]

During World War II, on August 15, 1944, it was one of the sites of a beach landing in Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of southern France.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 409—    
1800 501+2.94%
1806 647+4.35%
1821 883+2.09%
1831 966+0.90%
1836 974+0.17%
1841 955−0.39%
1846 994+0.80%
1851 1,041+0.93%
1856 1,055+0.27%
1861 1,143+1.62%
1866 1,271+2.15%
1872 1,461+2.35%
1876 1,508+0.79%
1881 2,456+10.25%
1886 3,227+5.61%
1891 3,810+3.38%
1896 4,270+2.31%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 4,865+2.64%
1906 4,893+0.11%
1911 5,112+0.88%
1921 6,183+1.92%
1926 8,919+7.60%
1931 9,539+1.35%
1936 9,635+0.20%
1946 8,969−0.71%
1954 10,177+1.59%
1962 13,425+3.52%
1968 17,844+4.86%
1975 21,080+2.41%
1982 24,118+1.94%
1990 26,616+1.24%
1999 30,671+1.59%
2007 34,381+1.44%
2012 34,115−0.16%
2017 35,042+0.54%
Source: EHESS [5] and INSEE (1968-2017) [6]

Geography

Saint-Raphael from Cap Dramont 01.jpg
The eastern part of Saint-Raphaël, with its village Agay beyond the bay, as seen from Cap Dramont.
Saint-Raphael from Cap Dramont 02.jpg
The western part of Saint-Raphaël, with the Île d'Or on the left, as seen from Cap Dramont.

Saint-Raphaël is located at the extreme eastern end of the Var, along the border with the adjacent département of Alpes-Maritimes, which occupies the far south-eastern corner of France at the frontier with Italy. The commune has a total of thirty-six kilometres (22 miles) of Mediterranean coastline, [7] owing mainly to the many coves and creeks formed between the natural region of the Esterel Massif (Massif de l'Esterel) and the sea. This places it second only to Marseilles, with fifty-seven kilometres (35 miles) of coastline. The commune is 89.59 km2 in extent. It is almost completely urbanised in the west, but includes over 60 km2 of protected areas of natural forest and the Esterel mountains.

Saint-Raphaël has four large sandy beaches: one near the city centre, called the Veillat; one at Boulouris; one at Le Dramont, and the fourth at Agay. There are two smaller ones at Anthéor and Le Trayas.

Rivers

Saint-Raphaël is separated from Fréjus by the River Pédégal: fed by the Garonne, the Adrets-of-l'Esterel, Saint-Jean-de-Cannes and Saint-Jean-de-l'Esterel.

The River Agay flows from the mountains down through the village of that name, and is fed by the streams Cabre, Perthus and Grenouillet. The Grenouillet is the most important of these streams, having average flows of between 43 cu m/s in July and 1160 cu m/s in January.

The River Valescure, which is channelled through the Barrage des Crous (dam), discharges into the River Reyran at Fréjus.

Mountains

Commune de Saint-Raphael includes Le Trayas at the extreme eastern end (at Foret Domaniale de l'Esterel and Mediterranean Sea coast) Le Trayas at Foret Domaniale de l'Esterel, Commune de Saint Raphael.jpg
Commune de Saint-Raphaël includes Le Trayas at the extreme eastern end (at Forêt Domaniale de l'Estérel and Mediterranean Sea coast)

From east to west the commune has several mountain summits rising from the massif. Mont Vinaigre in Fréjus stands at 618 metres (2,028 feet), Rastel d'Agay at 287 m (942 ft), Pic de l'Ours (carrying a transmitter aerial) at 492 m (1,614 ft), Pic du Cap Roux at 453 m (1,486 ft), and Pic d'Aurèle at 322 m (1,056 ft).

Situated almost entirely on the Esterel Massif, the commune sits on soil of red porphyr, which makes for very picturesque scenes along the coast where the soil and rocks are exposed on cliff faces and rocky shores. Three important and spectacular rocks dominate the seascape: Cap Roux at 360 m (1,180 ft), Saint-Pilon at 295 m (968 ft), and the Rock of Saint-Barthélemy.

Adjacent places

Immediately to the west and north-west of Saint-Raphaël lies the ancient town of Fréjus. To the north lie the hamlets of Saint-Jean-de-l'Esterel et Saint-Jean-de-Cannes, both within the Fréjus commune. To the extreme north-east, beyond Le Trayas, is the small resort of Miramar, lying within the commune of Théoule-sur-Mer. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south of the whole Saint-Raphaël commune.

Climate

St. Raphaël is located on the Côte d'Azur and enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters. The Mistral wind occurs, although sometimes the town is sheltered from this by the Massif des Maures and the Esterel. It is perhaps more exposed to the Levant (strong, easterly, wet) or the Sirocco (very strong, southerly, hot) air flows, but these occur rarely. The wind velocity record was established on 30 January 1986, with gusts of 140 km (87 mi) per hour.

Climate data for Saint-Raphaël [8] (1991–2020 averages, extremes 1966–2007)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)20.2
(68.4)		21.6
(70.9)		34.6
(94.3)		26.7
(80.1)		31.0
(87.8)		34.0
(93.2)		37.2
(99.0)		36.5
(97.7)		32.8
(91.0)		28.0
(82.4)		23.0
(73.4)		20.5
(68.9)		37.2
(99.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)12.5
(54.5)		13.4
(56.1)		15.9
(60.6)		17.8
(64.0)		22.5
(72.5)		26.6
(79.9)		29.7
(85.5)		30.1
(86.2)		25.3
(77.5)		20.6
(69.1)		15.9
(60.6)		13.0
(55.4)		20.3
(68.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)9.3
(48.7)		9.6
(49.3)		11.9
(53.4)		13.8
(56.8)		18.2
(64.8)		22.1
(71.8)		24.9
(76.8)		25.3
(77.5)		21.0
(69.8)		17.2
(63.0)		12.6
(54.7)		9.9
(49.8)		16.3
(61.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)6.0
(42.8)		5.8
(42.4)		7.9
(46.2)		9.7
(49.5)		14.0
(57.2)		17.5
(63.5)		20.2
(68.4)		20.5
(68.9)		16.7
(62.1)		13.8
(56.8)		9.3
(48.7)		6.8
(44.2)		12.4
(54.3)
Record low °C (°F)−9.6
(14.7)		−7.8
(18.0)		−7.2
(19.0)		−0.4
(31.3)		5.0
(41.0)		7.4
(45.3)		12.0
(53.6)		11.0
(51.8)		6.8
(44.2)		2.9
(37.2)		−1.5
(29.3)		−4.1
(24.6)		−9.6
(14.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)72.9
(2.87)		49.7
(1.96)		52.1
(2.05)		75.1
(2.96)		42.3
(1.67)		32.0
(1.26)		10.6
(0.42)		25.5
(1.00)		73.8
(2.91)		112.6
(4.43)		138.0
(5.43)		96.3
(3.79)		780.9
(30.74)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)6.05.35.26.65.03.21.42.24.67.48.56.461.8
Source: Météo-France [9]

Travel

Rail

The town's modern rail station is named Saint-Raphaël-Valescure and offers national, regional, and local train services:

Air

International scheduled air passenger services are available at:

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport: forty-five kilometres (28 miles).
Marseille Provence Airport: 118 km (73 mi).

Private, commercial and freight services are conducted at:

Cannes – Mandelieu Airport: twenty kilometres (12 miles).
La Môle – Saint-Tropez Airport: thirty-four kilometres (21 miles).

Bus

Saint-Raphaël is well served by bus routes, and has a busy bus station in the town centre.

Express service by LER PACA - Route 21: Aix-en-Provence to Nice.
Fast service (1 hour 15 mins) to Nice Airport by S.V.A. (Société Varoise d'Autocars)
Departement (County) services by SodeTrav (La Société Départementale des Transports du Var)
Routes 27, 28, 31, 53 and 104
Town services by AggloBus Fréjus/Saint-Raphael - Routes 1a, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10.

Distances

International relations

Saint-Raphaël is twinned with:

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
  3. ↑ Gueniffey, Patrice (2020-05-12). Napoleon and de Gaulle: Heroes and History. Harvard University Press. p. 30. ISBN   978-0-674-98838-5.
  4. ↑ "Antheor". Archived from the original on 2001-06-22. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  5. ↑ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Saint-Raphaël, EHESS (in French).
  6. ↑ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  7. ↑ "Accueil". www.saint-raphael.com. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  8. ↑ Meteo-France Weather Station
  9. ↑ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF) (in French). Météo-France . Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Ghent Zustersteden". Stad Gent (in Dutch). City of Ghent. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
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