Borne N°1 - Monument du Débarquement

They bear witness to the soldiers who fought, many of them risking their lives, and to all the Allies who landed on our shores to give us back our freedom. Monuments and commemorative steles have been erected in Sainte-Maxime, so that we never forget. In 1961, this monument replaced a statue of a woman brandishing a sword, erected in 1949. Built with the help of the Rhine and Danube Association, it bears the number 1 because it was intended to be the starting point of a signposted route from the Côte de Provence to the point where French troops crossed the Rhine. It also commemorates the liberation of the town of Sainte-Maxime on the evening of 15 August by the forces of the 45th American Infantry Division. On 23 February 1950, the Town Council approved the creation of La Borne N°1 de la Voie Libératrice, a work by sculptor Jean Portal. His plaster model remained on the harbour quay for several years, before the project was finally abandoned.