Brive-la-Gaillarde

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Administration
Commune of Brive-la-Gaillarde
Location
Longitude	01° 32' 02" E
Latitude	45° 09' 35" N
Country	France
Region	Limousin
Department	Corrèze (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Brive-la-Gaillarde
Canton	Chief town of 5 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération de Brive
Mayor	Bernard Murat (UMP) (2001-2008)
Statistics
Altitude	102 m–315 m (avg. 142 m)
Land area¹	48.59 km²
Population² (1999)	(Brivistes) 49,141
- Density (1999)	1,011/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	19031/ 19100
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).

Brive-la-Gaillarde (Limousin dialect of Occitan language: Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. it is a sous-préfecture of the Corrèze département. Population (1999): 49,141.

1 History
2 Mayors
3 Miscellaneous
4 External links

[edit] History

Even though the inhabitants settled around the 1st century, the city only started to grow much later. Starting around the 5th century, the original city starts to develop around a church dedicated to Saint-Martin-l'Espagnol. During the 12th century walls are built around the city and during the Hundred Years' War a second wall is built. These fortifications no longer exist and are now replaced by boulevards.

The commune was named "Brive" until 1919, when it was renamed "Brive-la-Gaillarde". The word "Gaillarde" (a word still existing and fairly 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.

The medieval center 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. Finally, it is the home of CA Brive rugby union team.