Dordogne

Dordogne (Occitan: Dordonha) is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it. It roughly corresponds with the ancient county of Périgord.

History

The county of Périgord dates back to when the area was inhabited by the Gauls, it was home to four tribes, the name for "four tribes" in the Gaulish language was "Petrocore". The area eventually became known as the county of Le Périgord and its inhabitants became known as the Périgordins (or Périgourdins). There are four Périgords in the Dordogne: the "Périgord Vert" (Green Périgord) with its main town of Nontron, consists of verdant valleys in a region crossed by many rivers and streams; the "Périgord Blanc" (White Périgord) situated around the department's capital of Périgueux, is a region of limestone plateaux, wide valleys and meadows; the "Périgord Pourpre" (Purple Périgord) with its capital of Bergerac, is a wine region; and the "Périgord Noir" (Black Périgord) surrounding the administrative center of Sarlat, overlooks the valleys of the Vézère and the Dordogne, where the woods of oak and pine give it its name.

Dordogne River

The Petrocores took part in the resistance against Rome. Concentrated in two or three major sites are the vestiges of the Gallo-Roman period - the gigantic ruined tower and arenas in Périgueux (formerly Vesone), the Périgord museum's archaeological collections, villa remains in Montcaret and the Roman tower of La Rigale Castle in Villetoureix. The first cluzeaux, or artificial caves either above or below ground, are found throughout the Dordogne. These subterranean refuges and lookout huts could shelter entire populations. According to Julius Caesar the Gauls took refuge there.

Since the Guienne province had returned to the Crown under the Plantagenets following the re-marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, Périgord passed by right under English suze-rainty. Being situated at the boundaries of influence of the monarchies of France and England, it was to oscillate between the two dynasties for a long time. Over three hundred years of struggle until 1453 and the end of the Hundred Years' War were to tear apart and, as a consequence, model its physiognomy.

With the end of the Hundred Years' War, the Castillon plain on the banks of the Dordogne, during the calmer periods of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, saw a development in urban architecture. The finest Gothic and Renaissance residences were built in Périgueux, Bergerac and Sarlat. In the countryside, the nobility had the majority of our 1200 chateaux, manors and country houses erected. In the second half of the sixteenth century, however, they experienced attacks, pillaging and fires as the Wars of Religion reached a rare degree of violence in Périgord. At the time, Bergerac was one of the most powerful Huguenot strongholds, along with La Rochelle. Following these wars, Périgord, fief of Henry of Navarre. was to return to the Crown for good and suffer henceforth from the sudden political changes of the French nation, from the Revolution to the tragic hours of the Resistance. We also encounter the memory of its most illustrious literary figures: Bertran de Born, Michel de Montaigne, Etienne de La Boetie, Brantôme, Fenelon, Mahle de Biran, Eugene Le Roy and Andre Maurois; its great captains: Talleyrand, Saint-Exupery, Biron... and even Josephine Baker. A number of ruins (La Chapelle-Faucher, I'Herm...) have retained the memory of the tragedies which took place within their walls. Several of our castles and châteaux are open to visitors and some of them such as Bourdeilles and Mareuil, house remarkable collections.

In addition to its castles, chateaux, churches, bastides and cave fortresses, the Périgord region has preserved from centuries past, a number of wonderful villages which still have their market halls, dovecotes, tories (stone huts), churches, abbeys and castles. Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere, Connezac, Saint-Jean-de-Côle, La Roque-Gageac and many others are real jewels of architecture. As for the old quarters of Périgueux or Bergerac, restored and developed into pedestrian areas, they have regained their former charm. A number of small towns, such as Brantôme, Issigeac, Eymet and Mareuil, have withstood the often brash changes of modern times. A special mention should be made in this respect to Sarlat and its Black Périgord area.

Dordogne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former province of Périgord, the county of Périgord.

Geography

The department is part of the region of Aquitaine and is surrounded by the six départements of Haute-Vienne, Corrèze, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde, and Charente. Dordogne is the third largest department of France.

Politics

The President of the General Council is Bernard Cazeau of the Socialist Party.

Party		seats
style="background-color: Template:Socialist Party (France)/meta/color" |•	Socialist Party	30
style="background-color: Template:Union for a Popular Movement/meta/color" |	Union for a Popular Movement	9
style="background-color: Template:French Communist Party/meta/color" |•	French Communist Party	5
style="background-color: Template:Miscellaneous Left/meta/color" |•	Miscellaneous Left	3
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Movement (France)/meta/color" |	MoDem	1
style="background-color: Template:Miscellaneous Right/meta/color" |	Miscellaneous Right	1
style="background-color: Template:Left Radical Party/meta/color" |•	Left Radical Party	1

Demographics

Dordogne has become one of the favourite destinations of British immigration to France, (more than 20 000 in 2006)

Tourism

Château de Beynac

There are more than 1,500 castles in Dordogne, including the following:

• Beynac
• Biron
• Bourdeilles
• Castelnaud-la-Chapelle
• Commarque
• Hautefort
• Milandes
• Monbazillac
• Pécany
• Puymartin

The famous caves of Lascaux have been closed to the public, but the duplicate model cave of Lascaux II is open to visitors and is a major tourist attraction. Périgueux has important Roman ruins, including an arena which is still visible inside a public park located near the town centre.

The Dordogne's quiet back roads, polite motorists, sublime scenery, quaint inns and fabulous food make it one of the world's great bicycling destinations.

See also

• Cantons of the Dordogne department
• Communes of the Dordogne department
• Arrondissements of the Dordogne department

Dordogne in Popular Culture

Michael Crichton's novel Timeline is placed in two time periods of Dordogne.

Douglas Boyd, the author husband of flautist Atarah Ben-Tovim, set parts of each of his six thrillers in Dordogne.

In the 8th episode of season 4 of Smallville, Dordogne is mensioned for its good wine.

External links

• Template:Fr icon Préfecture website
• Template:Fr icon Conseil général website
• Template:Fr icon Atlaspol website. Politics of Dordogne
• Template:En icon DordogneHomes.com
• Template:En icon Dordogne at Curlie
• Template:Wikitravel