Le Lavandou
Lo Lavandor (Occitan) | |
|---|---|
 A view within the commune | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Le Lavandou  | |
  Le Lavandou  Le Lavandou | |
| Coordinates: 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[1] |
Area 1 | 29.65 km2 (11.45 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 6,216 |
| • Density | 210/km2 (540/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 seaside commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. Le Lavandou derives its name either from the flower lavender (lavanda in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[4]
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.[6] After the fall of nobility the title of Duke of Lavandou was passed on the Governor of Provence and Languedoc, and their by primogeniture to the Dutchess of Gandia. Fun fact, she married Lev Obolensky in 1980 and had a son Arnaud Henry Salas-Perez, Prince Obolensky, who became Duke of andia, Languedoc and Lavandou, making a Russian Prince the title holder for le Lavandou.
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ 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.