Grange du Patrimoine
avenue Jean Moulin
33930 Vendays-Montalivet
Tél: 06 71 18 45 21
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A brief History of Vendays-Montalivet
The origins of the village
In 1856, Mr TEYSSIER, Mayor of Vendays, asked the village council their permission to build a bathing resort in the region known as "La Passe du Gaul".
Then in 1857, plots of land were allocated to the inhabitants of Vendays who asked for them. The name given to the hamlet at the time was VILSAINE" (a shortened version of Ville Saine - a spa town).
In 1862, earthworks were carried out to improve the grass track between the new hamlet and the village of Vendays and by 1871 the bridge over the river Brede had been built.
Meanwhile, a new name was given to the hamlet: "MONTALIVET"
The origins of the name Montalivet
Many legends exist, passed down over the generations from father to son:
- Following a shipwreck, a ship's lost cargo of olives drifted onto the coast and formed a huge heap of olive's on the Beach: MONT OLIVER.
- A pilgrimage site devoted to the Virgin Mary was called the MONT DES OLIVES.
- Finally, an origin in the occitan dialect from the southwest region of France; a shepherd called "LIBET" lived on a dune overlooking the hamlet, whenever his friends called on him, they said "Jou mounte to Libet" ( I'm going up to see Libet).
Growth of the Hamlet
After the statue of the Virgin Mary was built in 1868, a seasonal mail-box installed in 1870 and the arrival of the railway line as far as Queyrac in 1874 helping to provide a quick link to the city of Bordeaux, the village has grown inland to the east.
The hamlet of Montalivet grew eastwards (224 plots of land) in 1885. In 1906, a monument was created in memory of Jacques Laporte and was followed by the first telephone line in 1913 and had to wait until 1937 for the arrival of the electrical grid to the hamlet.
Meanwhile, a lifeguard post was set up, an early indication of the growth of the seaside resort. 1950 was a key year, determining the present structure of the village:
- Opening of a naturist centre (CHM) which saw the creation of the French Naturist Federation in 1953.. Yes the first naturist resort in France.
- The Volny-Martin housing estate was planned (836 units), considerably increasing the size of the village.
Modern development was underway and many facilities were to follow:
- in 1957 construction of the covered market
- in 1961 mains water reached the hamlet
- in 1961 construction of the post office
- in 1966 / 67 installation of the aerodrome
- in 1970 construction of the sports centre
- in 1999 the start of the housing area "Les Pins de L'Océan"
- in 2000 a centre for judo, karate, dance and gym
- in 2000 the land yacht centre.