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24-551: The town faces southward on the northern shore of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez . In the north the Massif des Maures mountain range protects it from the cold winds of the mistral . It is the seat of the canton of Sainte-Maxime . Sainte-Maxime was founded around 1000 AD by monks from the Lérins Islands outside Cannes . They built a monastery and named the village after Saint Maxime. Fishing

48-580: A 30 minute radius by car. Jean de Brunhoff , the author of the Babar books, lived in Sainte-Maxime for some time and here created the first book. One of the beaches – La Plage des Eléphants – is named after the famous blue elephant. The Swedish royal family (of the Bernadotte dynasty) owns a villa, Mirage , in the town's central area. It was originally acquired by Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland in 1946 as

72-441: A bay often reduces the strength of winds and blocks waves . Bays may have as wide a variety of shoreline characteristics as other shorelines. In some cases, bays have beaches , which "are usually characterized by a steep upper foreshore with a broad, flat fronting terrace". Bays were significant in the history of human settlement because they provided easy access to marine resources like fisheries . Later they were important in

96-453: A bay unless its area is as large as (or larger than) that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation — otherwise it would be referred to as a bight . There are various ways in which bays can form. The largest bays have developed through plate tectonics . As the super-continent Pangaea broke up along curved and indented fault lines, the continents moved apart and left large bays; these include

120-534: A second home for himself and his at that time unofficial life partner Lilian Davies , later Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland. The central and ocean facing boulodrome in Sainte-Maxime is named after the prince, as he was a regular player who appreciated the uncomplicated and warm reception of the village locals. Raoul Nordling was the Swedish consul in Paris 1944 who made great efforts to save Paris and its citizens during

144-440: A villa at Beauvallon. Sainte-Maxime is twinned with: Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean , a lake , or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf , sea , sound , or bight . A cove is a small, circular bay with a narrow entrance. A fjord is an elongated bay formed by glacial action. The term embayment

168-593: Is also used for related features , such as extinct bays or freshwater environments. A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay , an estuary of the Susquehanna River . Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada . Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology . The land surrounding

192-603: Is best remembered for his efforts to mediate between French and German forces during the occupation and Liberation of Paris during the Second World War . He played an important role in ensuring Red Cross access to prisoners of war , and during the uprising of the French resistance in August 1944 he negotiated with the German commander General Dietrich von Choltitz , to try to limit

216-421: Is named after him. Léon Gaumont was a French inventor, engineer and industrialist who was a pioneer of the motion picture industry. Gaumont often stayed in Sainte-Maxime where he owned a castle, Les Tourelles , built circa 1883. This residence served as a backdrop for several films including Judex conducted in 1916 by Louis Feuillade that was shot in part in Sainte-Maxime. The castle – with new buildings –

240-465: Is now a holiday resort. Léon Gaumont died in Sainte-Maxime in 1946. Paul Géraldy or Paul Lefevre (1885–1983) was a French poet and playwright. He had a house in Sainte-Maxime named Toi et moi ("You and me") which took its name from his second book (which was his breakthrough). The house is located east of the village above the Madrague beach and now split into apartments. Victor Margueritte (1866–1942)

264-501: The Blue Flag -certified supervised ones. On the west side, The Croisette has a sailing school. On the east side of the town are La Nartelle, La Plage des Eléphants and La Garonette (also called Val D'Esquieres ), which all provide water-skiing and jet-skiing activities. In addition, there are several smaller beaches that are unsupervised, for a total of 10 km of publicly accessible shoreline. There are eight golf courses within

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288-571: The Gulf of Guinea , the Gulf of Mexico , and the Bay of Bengal , which is the world's largest bay. Bays also form through coastal erosion by rivers and glaciers . A bay formed by a glacier is a fjord . Rias are created by rivers and are characterised by more gradual slopes. Deposits of softer rocks erode more rapidly, forming bays, while harder rocks erode less quickly, leaving headlands . Raoul Nordling Raoul Nordling ( French: [ʁaul nɔʁdliŋ] , Swedish: [ˈrɑ̌ːʊl ˈnûːɖlɪŋ] ; 11 November 1882 – 1 October 1962)

312-751: The Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour in 1962. He continued to play an active role in Parisian social life after the end of the war. He lived in a house called "Le Mas du Gay Savoir" in Sainte-Maxime , which made him an honorary citizen. During the late 1940s, he intervened with the Danish and French security services to secure more lenient treatment for the writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline , who had been imprisoned in Denmark while

336-564: The United States troops. At La Garonette beach, but formally in Les Issambres , ( Roquebrune-sur-Argens commune), the sailing centre is named La Batterie , as it was the location of a German artillery battery . Tourism is the largest source of revenue for Sainte-Maxime nowadays, but the town remains lively all year round with 13 968 inhabitants as of 2017. There is the old town with shops, markets, restaurants, bars and cafés, opposite

360-573: The bloodshed and damage to the city. Many accounts of these events attribute him a major role in doing so, and he was honoured by France after the Liberation with the highest available medal, the Croix de Guerre avec palme in 1949. A play area in the 11th Arrondissement , the "Square Raoul Nordling" is named in his honour, as is a street in Neuilly . He was named honorary citizen of the city of Paris in 1958 and

384-521: The development of sea trade as the safe anchorage they provide encouraged their selection as ports . The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a bay as a well-marked indentation in the coastline, whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation, however, shall not be regarded as

408-408: The harbour. On the pier are marine shops and an upscale restaurant, and also fast boat transportation with Les Bateaux Verts to Les Issambres , St Tropez and Port Grimaud . There is a shoreline promenade with parks, pine trees , boulodrome Prince Bertil , the tourist office and the city beaches, as well as a casino with its own piece of white sand. In addition to the city beaches, there are

432-517: The late phase of the Second World War. He persuaded General Choltitz to disobey Hitler's orders to destroy the French capital and many lives were saved before General Eisenhover approved General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque and Charles de Gaulle to re-enter the town. Nordling had a house in Sainte-Maxime, Le Mas du Gay Savoir ; he was also named an honorary citizen. Part of the road to Grimaud

456-520: The monks in the early 16th century to protect the village from invaders. With an addition of a battery of cannons and with the Tour du Portalet in Saint-Tropez the whole bay was protected. As late as in the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon ordered a restoration of the battery while also adding cannons on the Lérins Islands . The tower is now a museum. On 15 August 1944, the beach of Sainte-Maxime

480-465: Was a French novelist and a frequent guest in Sainte-Maxime. Around 1920, he bought and developed a large property, La Madrague , which stretched from the sea and climbed to the top of the Colline Meinier magnificently facing south. The writer lived in his tower with his wife until 1938. Michel Constantin (1924–2003) was a French movie actor. He was a frequent guest in Sainte-Maxime where he owned

504-513: Was a Swedish-French businessman and diplomat . He was born in Paris and spent most of his life there. Nordling's father, Carl Gustav Nordling, arrived in Paris from Sweden at the end of the 1870s, and established the paper-paste firm "Gustav Nordling". Born in Paris, Raoul studied at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly , and then joined his father's company, eventually succeeding him at its helm. He

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528-536: Was appointed as Swedish vice- consul in Paris in 1905 at the age of 24, becoming consul in 1917 and consul-general in 1926, on the death of his father. Although Nordling was Swedish by nationality, he felt himself to be above all a "citizen of Paris". He spoke French much more often than Swedish, having to virtually learn his national language when he went to Sweden as a young man to complete his military service . Throughout his working life, Nordling played an important role in mediating between Sweden and France, but he

552-527: Was at the centre of Operation Dragoon , the invasion and liberation of Southern France during World War II . "Attack Force Delta", based around the 45th Division , landed at Sainte-Maxime. After fierce house-to-house fighting the Germans were defeated and eventually surrendered. By the foot of the Harbour pier and by La Garonette beach in the far east of the commune, memorials at the respective landing places honour

576-421: Was the economic mainstay for the inhabitants but during the early 19th century increasing amounts of lumber , cork , olive oil and wine were shipped to Marseille and Italy . The village grew and in the 20th century began to attract artists, poets and writers who enjoyed the climate, beautiful surroundings and azure blue water. In front of the old town is the characteristic tower, La Tour Carrée , built by

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