Bazas

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For the patriarch of Jerusalem called Bazas, see Zamudas of Jerusalem.

Administration
Commune of Bazas
Location
Longitude	00°12'38" W
Latitude	44°25'58" N
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine
Department	Gironde
Arrondissement	Langon
Canton	Bazas
Statistics
Altitude	34 m–123 m (avg. 56 m)
Land area¹	37.29 km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	33036/ 33430
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Bazas is a commune of the Gironde département, in southwestern France.

1 History
2 Ecclesiastical history
3 Sights
4 Economy
5 Sources, external link and reference

[edit] History

The town was the seat of a bishop from at least the beginning of the 6th century till 1790.

[edit] Ecclesiastical history

According to Gregory of Tours, Bazas had a bishop at the time of the Vandal invasion in the fifth century.

The dedication of the cathedral to St. John the Baptist is explained in an account given by the same historian that a lady of Bazas, whom certain hagiographers of the nineteenth century believe to have been St. Veronica, brought from Palestine a relic of St. John the Baptist at the time of that saint's death.

For two hundred and fifty years prior to 1057, the Bishop of Bazas bore the title of Bishop of Aire, Dax, Bayonne, Oloron and Lescar.

Pope Urban II (1088-99) preached the crusade at Bazas.

[edit] Sights

The town has a Gothic (cathedral) dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries, now part of Unesco's heritage sights. There are remains of ramparts (15th and 16th centuries) and several old houses of the 16th century. Photo:[1]] Saturday morning markets are well worth seeing. The area is also home to the Clementin Castles, built by Pope Clement Vth for himself and his family. You can visit around Bazas :- Chateau de Roquetaillade, Chateau de Villandraut and Chateau de Fargues.

[edit] Economy

The vineyards of the vicinity produce white wine. The town is capital of an arrondissement, and carries on tanning, and trade in the well-known Bazadais cattle.