Le Lavandou

Le Lavandou
Le Lavandou
Commune
	A view within the commune
	Coat of arms
	Le Lavandou Le Lavandou
	Coordinates: 43°08′19″N 6°22′06″E / 43.1386°N 6.3683°ECoordinates: 43°08′19″N 6°22′06″E / 43.1386°N 6.3683°E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Var
Arrondissement	Toulon
Canton	La Crau
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Gil Bernardi
Area 1	29.65 km2 (11.45 sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	83070 /83980
Elevation	0–485 m (0–1,591 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.

Le Lavandou (pronounced [lə lavɑ̃du]; Occitan: Lo Lavandor) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It derives its name either from the flower lavender (lavanda in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area,^[2] or more prosaically from the local form of the Occitan name for lavoir, lavandor (for lavador, a public place for washing clothes).

The (then) village is where the famous popular song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was written in the summer of 1939.^[3] The words were by Eric Maschwitz and the music by Manning Sherwin, with its title ‘stolen’ from a story by Michael Arlen. The song had its first performance in a local bar, where the melody was played on piano by Manning Sherwin with the help of the resident saxophonist. Maschwitz sang the words while holding a glass of wine, but nobody seemed impressed.^[4]

In the spring of 2002, an attempt was made to find the bar where this classic song was first performed with the view to having a blue plaque set up. With the help of the local tourist office, elderly residents were questioned, but it proved impossible to establish the venue.^[3]

In September 2000, the mayor passed an unusual bylaw making it illegal to die in the town. The mayor described his own bylaw as "absurd ... to counter an absurd situation"; the "absurd situation" was that with the town's cemetery already full, a court in Nice had denied permission for a new cemetery because it would mar the beauty of the selected site.^[5]

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	3,271	—
1975	3,798	+2.16%
1982	4,269	+1.68%
1990	5,212	+2.53%
1999	5,449	+0.50%
2007	5,825	+0.84%
2012	5,165	−2.38%
2017	5,985	+2.99%
Source: INSEE^[6]

Twin towns – sister cities

Le Lavandou has been twinned with Kronberg, Germany since 1973.^{[citation needed]}

Events

Lavandou Flower Parade
Saint-Pierre festival
Romérage
Summer season concerts
Halloween | Fall Festival

Beaches

Beach Cavaliere

Beach Saint-Clair

L'Anglade
La Grande Plage du Lavandou
Saint-Clair
La Fossette
Aiguebelle
l'Eléphant
Jean Blanc
Rossignol
Le Layet
Cavalière
Cap Nègre
Pramousquier

Panoramic view of Le Lavandou (2017-05)

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ Lehman, Doris (1996). The Riviera: Off-season and On. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 121.
^ ^a ^b "Le chant du Rossignol – ou l'étonnante histoire d'une très célèbre chanson anglaise écrite en 1939 au Lavandou", Figure Libre, Reseau Lalan, Le Lavandou (No 14), Sep 2002
^ Maschwitz, Eric (1957). No Chip on my Shoulder. London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd. pp. 208, p.124.
^ Henley, Jon (2000-09-23). "Citizens live under law's dead hand". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

External links

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[1] "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.

[Lehman-2] Lehman, Doris (1996). The Riviera: Off-season and On. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 121.

[ReferenceA-3] "Le chant du Rossignol – ou l'étonnante histoire d'une très célèbre chanson anglaise écrite en 1939 au Lavandou", Figure Libre, Reseau Lalan, Le Lavandou (No 14), Sep 2002

[Maschwitz-4] Maschwitz, Eric (1957). No Chip on my Shoulder. London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd. pp. 208, p.124.

[5] Henley, Jon (2000-09-23). "Citizens live under law's dead hand". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-10-26.

[pophist-6] Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

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