Brive-la-Gaillarde

Brive-la-Gaillarde
Subprefecture and commune

Visitor centre

Coat of arms
Brive-la-Gaillarde

Coordinates: 45°09′30″N 1°31′56″E / 45.1583°N 1.5321°E / 45.1583; 1.5321Coordinates: 45°09′30″N 1°31′56″E / 45.1583°N 1.5321°E / 45.1583; 1.5321
Country France
Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Corrèze
Arrondissement Brive-la-Gaillarde
Canton Brive-la-Gaillarde-1, 2, 3 and 4
Intercommunality Brive
Government
  Mayor (20082014) Philippe Nauche
Area1 48.59 km2 (18.76 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 49,675
  Density 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
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.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

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 These fortifications no longer exist and have been replaced by boulevards.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)
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)
Average high °C (°F) 9.2
(48.6)
11.0
(51.8)
14.6
(58.3)
17.2
(63)
20.9
(69.6)
25.0
(77)
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)
Average low °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)
14.3
(57.7)
13.6
(56.5)
10.7
(51.3)
8.3
(46.9)
3.9
(39)
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
(2.752)
59.0
(2.323)
63.5
(2.5)
85.6
(3.37)
91.6
(3.606)
71.3
(2.807)
67.3
(2.65)
67.0
(2.638)
77.6
(3.055)
81.7
(3.217)
83.6
(3.291)
82.9
(3.264)
901.0
(35.472)
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:

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
17935,847    
18005,762−1.5%
18067,608+32.0%
18216,801−10.6%
18318,031+18.1%
18368,843+10.1%
18418,350−5.6%
18468,382+0.4%
18518,889+6.0%
18569,384+5.6%
18619,854+5.0%
186610,389+5.4%
187210,765+3.6%
187611,920+10.7%
188114,182+19.0%
188615,707+10.8%
189116,803+7.0%
189618,111+7.8%
190119,496+7.6%
190620,636+5.8%
191121,486+4.1%
192121,711+1.0%
192624,049+10.8%
193126,718+11.1%
193629,074+8.8%
194633,501+15.2%
195436,088+7.7%
196240,175+11.3%
196846,561+15.9%
197551,828+11.3%
198251,511−0.6%
199049,765−3.4%
199949,127−1.3%
200849,675+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, however its water-sports sector has recently come under scrutiny by French environmental authorities after multiple species of the Caiman alligator were found in local bodies of water, including the Lac du Causse and the Dordogne River. As such, all those undertaking water-sports in the surrounding bodies of water have been strongly advised to reconsider their activities as of 2017, pending an investigation by the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management who have been instructed to deal with the infestation by Mayor Philippe Nauche.

Personalities

Brive-la-Gaillarde was the birthplace of:

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Brive-la-Gaillarde is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. "Données climatiques de la station de Brive-la-Gaillarde" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  2. "Climat Limousin" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  3. "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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