Brive-la-Gaillarde
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Brive-la-Gaillarde | |
|---|---|
 Visitor centre | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Brive-la-Gaillarde  | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Corrèze |
| Arrondissement | Brive-la-Gaillarde |
| Intercommunality | Brive |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Philippe Nauche |
| Area 1 | 48.59 km2 (18.76 sq mi) |
| Population (2008) | 49,675 |
| • Density | 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Brivistes |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 19031 /19100 |
| Elevation | 102–315 m (335–1,033 ft) (avg. 142 m or 466 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Brive-la-Gaillarde (French pronunciation: [bʁiv la ɡajaʁd]; Limousin dialect of Occitan language: Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. It has around 50,000 inhabitants, while the population of the urban area was 89,260 in 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle. In French popular culture, the town is associated with a song by Georges Brassens.
History
Even though the inhabitants settled around the 1st century, the city only started to grow much later. From around the 5th century onwards, the original city began to develop around a church dedicated to Saint-Martin-l'Espagnol. During the 12th century walls were built around the city and during the Hundred Years' War a second wall was built. These fortifications no longer exist and have been replaced by boulevards.
The commune was named "Brive" until 1919, when it was renamed "Brive-la-Gaillarde". The word "Gaillarde" (still used in current French) probably stands for bravery or strength in the city's name, but it can also refer to the city's walls. Brive now extends outside of its original boundaries into Malemort and Ussac.
During World War II, Brive-la-Gaillarde was a regional capital of the Resistance, acting as a seat of several clandestine information networks and several of the principal resistance movements, including the Armée secrète (or “Secret Army”) and the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance (or “United Movements of the Resistance”).
Brive-la-Gaillarde was the first city of Occupied France to liberate itself by its own means, on 15 August 1944. For this, the city received the “Croix de guerre 1939-1945” military decoration.
The medieval centre is mainly a commercial district with retail shops and various cafés. It is also the location of the city hall, the main police station, and the Labenche museum. One notable landmark outside the inner city is the Pont Cardinal, a bridge which used to be a crossing point for travelers from Paris to Toulouse.
Climate
| Climate data for Brive-la-Gaillarde (1981–2010 averages) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) |
24.4 (75.9) |
26.7 (80.1) |
30.0 (86.0) |
32.9 (91.2) |
39.6 (103.3) |
41.4 (106.5) |
40.7 (105.3) |
35.9 (96.6) |
30.9 (87.6) |
25.6 (78.1) |
19.3 (66.7) |
41.4 (106.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) |
11.0 (51.8) |
14.6 (58.3) |
17.2 (63.0) |
20.9 (69.6) |
25.0 (77.0) |
27.4 (81.3) |
27.0 (80.6) |
23.6 (74.5) |
19.1 (66.4) |
13.0 (55.4) |
9.7 (49.5) |
18.1 (64.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.7 (33.3) |
0.7 (33.3) |
2.9 (37.2) |
5.4 (41.7) |
9.0 (48.2) |
12.2 (54.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
13.6 (56.5) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
1.4 (34.5) |
6.9 (44.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −11.8 (10.8) |
−16.4 (2.5) |
−12.6 (9.3) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
2.1 (35.8) |
5.2 (41.4) |
3.6 (38.5) |
0.6 (33.1) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
−13.4 (7.9) |
−16.4 (2.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 69.9 (2.75) |
59.0 (2.32) |
63.5 (2.50) |
85.6 (3.37) |
91.6 (3.61) |
71.3 (2.81) |
67.3 (2.65) |
67.0 (2.64) |
77.6 (3.06) |
81.7 (3.22) |
83.6 (3.29) |
82.9 (3.26) |
901.0 (35.47) |
| Average precipitation days | 10.8 | 9.3 | 9.4 | 12.6 | 10.6 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 10.7 | 119.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 91.1 | 113.3 | 169.6 | 177.5 | 215.1 | 241.1 | 256.3 | 241.3 | 200.3 | 137.4 | 85.2 | 79.5 | 2,007.6 |
| Source: Météo France[1][2] | |||||||||||||
Administration
The most recent mayors of Brive-la-Gaillarde were:
- 1966-1995: Jean Charbonnel
- 1995-2008: Bernard Murat
- 2008–present: Philippe Nauche
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1793 | 5,847 | — |
| 1800 | 5,762 | −1.5% |
| 1806 | 7,608 | +32.0% |
| 1821 | 6,801 | −10.6% |
| 1831 | 8,031 | +18.1% |
| 1836 | 8,843 | +10.1% |
| 1841 | 8,350 | −5.6% |
| 1846 | 8,382 | +0.4% |
| 1851 | 8,889 | +6.0% |
| 1856 | 9,384 | +5.6% |
| 1861 | 9,854 | +5.0% |
| 1866 | 10,389 | +5.4% |
| 1872 | 10,765 | +3.6% |
| 1876 | 11,920 | +10.7% |
| 1881 | 14,182 | +19.0% |
| 1886 | 15,707 | +10.8% |
| 1891 | 16,803 | +7.0% |
| 1896 | 18,111 | +7.8% |
| 1901 | 19,496 | +7.6% |
| 1906 | 20,636 | +5.8% |
| 1911 | 21,486 | +4.1% |
| 1921 | 21,711 | +1.0% |
| 1926 | 24,049 | +10.8% |
| 1931 | 26,718 | +11.1% |
| 1936 | 29,074 | +8.8% |
| 1946 | 33,501 | +15.2% |
| 1954 | 36,088 | +7.7% |
| 1962 | 40,175 | +11.3% |
| 1968 | 46,561 | +15.9% |
| 1975 | 51,828 | +11.3% |
| 1982 | 51,511 | −0.6% |
| 1990 | 49,765 | −3.4% |
| 1999 | 49,127 | −1.3% |
| 2008 | 49,675 | +1.1% |
Transport
Brive-la-Gaillarde railway station offers connections to Limoges, Périgueux, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Toulouse, and several regional destinations. The A20 motorway connects Brive with Limoges and Toulouse, the A89 with Bordeaux.
Sport
The city is home to a rugby union team, CA Brive.
It also hosted the 2009 Junior World Rowing Championships.
Personalities
Brive-la-Gaillarde was the birthplace of:
- Guillaume Dubois (1656–1723), cardinal and statesman
- Pierre André Latreille (1762–1833), entomologist
- Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763–1815), marshal of France
- Michel Labrousse (1912–1988), scholar of Roman history
- Edmond Michelet (1899-1970), politician, leader of the Movement Combat Limousin; arrested by the Gestapo in Brive in February 1943; died in the village of Marcillac, the town of Brive;
- Jean-Joseph Sanfourche was employed as a sales manager for the company Aumarchand, located in the Dordogne, and by a company in Brive
- Patrick Sebastien (born 1953), imitator, actor, singer, television host.
- Xavier Patier (born 1958), high official and writer
- Cédric Villani (1973 -), mathematician; Fields Medalist in 2010
- Cédric Heymans (1978– ), French international rugby union player
- Dimitri Yachvili (1980– ), French international rugby union player
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Brive-la-Gaillarde is twinned with:
See also
References
- ^ "Données climatiques de la station de Brive-la-Gaillarde" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ^ "Climat Limousin" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ^ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
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External links
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
