fbpx
Wikipedia

Dordogne

August 23, 2023

This article is about the French department. For other uses, see Dordogne (disambiguation).

Dordogne (UK: /dɔːrˈdɔɪn/ dor-DOYN, US: /dɔːrˈdoʊn/ dor-DOHN or /dɔːrˈdɔːnjə/ dor-DAWN-yə;[3][4] French: [dɔʁdɔɲ] (listen); Occitan: Dordonha [duɾˈduɲɔ]) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named after the river Dordogne, which runs through it. It corresponds roughly to the ancient county of Périgord. In 2019, Dordogne had a population of 413,223.[5]

Dordogne
Dordonha (Occitan)
Department
From top down, left to right: prefecture building in Périgueux, Château de Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, river Lourde and La Roque-Gageac
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Dordogne in France
Coordinates: 45°0′N 0°40′E / 45.000°N 0.667°E / 45.000; 0.667
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
PrefecturePérigueux
SubprefecturesBergerac
Nontron
Sarlat-la-Canéda
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilGerminal Peiro[1] (PS)
Area
1
 • Total9,060 km2 (3,500 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
 • Total412,807
 • Rank60th
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number24
Arrondissements4
Cantons25
Communes503
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

History

The county of Périgord dates back to when the area was inhabited by the Gauls. It was originally 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.
  • 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.
 
 
The river Dordogne near Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

The Petrocores took part in the resistance against Rome. Concentrated in a few 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 earliest cluzeaux (artificial caves either above or below ground) can be found throughout the Dordogne. These subterranean refuges and lookout huts were large enough to shelter entire local populations. According to Julius Caesar, the Gauls took refuge in these caves during the resistance.

After Guienne province was transferred to the English Crown under the Plantagenets following the remarriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, Périgord passed by right to English suzerainty. Being situated at the boundaries of influence of the monarchies of France and England, it oscillated between the two dynasties for more than three hundred years of struggle until the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453. The county had been torn apart and, as a consequence, that modeled its physiognomy.

During the calmer periods of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Castillon plain on the banks of the Dordogne saw a development in urban architecture. The finest Gothic and Renaissance residences were built in Périgueux, Bergerac, and Sarlat. In the countryside, the nobility erected the majority of the more than 1200 chateaux, manors and country houses. In the second half of the 16th century, however, war was waged in the area, as the attacks, pillaging, and fires of 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 would continue to suffer 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 the region's most important literary figures: Arnaut Daniel, Bertran de Born, Michel de Montaigne, Étienne de La Boétie, Brantôme, Fenelon, Maine de Biran, Eugene Le Roy, and André Maurois; its great captains: Talleyrand, Saint-Exupéry, Biron; and even entertainer and activist Josephine Baker. A number of ruins (La Chapelle-Faucher, I'Herm) have retained the memory of the tragedies that took place within their walls. Several of the castles and châteaux are open to visitors; some of them, such as Bourdeilles and Mareuil, house noteworthy collections.

In addition to its castles, chateaux, churches, bastides, and cave fortresses, the Périgord region has preserved since centuries past a number of villages that still have their market halls, dovecotes, bories (stone huts), churches, abbeys, and castles. Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, Connezac, Saint-Jean-de-Côle, La Roque-Gageac, and many others contain important and visually interesting architectural examples. The old quarters of Périgueux or Bergerac have been restored and developed into pedestrian areas. A number of small towns, such as Brantôme, Issigeac, Eymet and Mareuil, have withstood the 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 on 4 March 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from the former province of Périgord, the county of Périgord. Its borders continued to change over subsequent decades.

In 1793 the communes of Boisseuilh, Coubjours, Génis, Payzac, Saint-Cyr-les-Champagnes, Saint-Mesmin, Salagnac, Savignac, Saint-Trié and Teillots were transferred from Corrèze to Dordogne.
In 1794 Dordogne ceded Cavarc to Lot-et-Garonne. Later in 1794 (albeit during the subsequent year under the Republican Calendar in use at the time), Dordogne gained Parcoul from Charente-Inférieure.
Following the restoration, in 1819, the commune of Bonrepos was suppressed and merged with the adjacent commune of Souillac in Lot.

In 1870, shortly after France fought against Prussia in a war that the enemy was winning, a young aristocrat called Alain de Monéys was savagely tortured and then burned by a crowd of between 300 and 800 people for two hours on 16 August in a public square in the village of Hautefaye in the north-west of the department. Details of the incident remain unclear: the leading participants appear to have been drunk, and before the introduction of mass education most of the witnesses would have been unable (and possibly unwilling) to write down what they saw. But at some stage the victim died, and following a trial four individuals identified as culpable were in turn condemned to die by guillotine. The sentence was carried out in the same public square on 13 February 1885.

It was suggested that the victim had reported the (bad) news of the war in a way that implied support for the enemy, although subsequently it became clear that his patriotic credentials were beyond reproach. It was also suggested that the mob had been antagonized when he called out, "Vive la République!" (Long live the republic) at a time when the patriotic villagers valued the imperial regime, which Parisian revolutionaries were in the process of destroying. This incident has been studied by historian Alain Corbin,[6] among others.

Geography

The department is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is surrounded by the six départements of Haute-Vienne, Corrèze, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Gironde, Charente-Maritime, and Charente. Dordogne is the third-largest department of metropolitan France. In total area, it is larger than Cyprus and smaller than Cape Verde.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Périgueux, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 9 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:[7]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1791433,343—    
1801409,475−0.56%
1806424,113+0.70%
1821453,136+0.44%
1831482,750+0.64%
1841490,263+0.15%
1851505,789+0.31%
1861501,687−0.08%
1872480,141−0.40%
1881495,037+0.34%
1891478,471−0.34%
1901452,951−0.55%
1911437,432−0.35%
1921396,742−0.97%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1931383,720−0.33%
1936386,963+0.17%
1946387,643+0.02%
1954377,870−0.32%
1962375,455−0.08%
1968374,073−0.06%
1975373,179−0.03%
1982377,356+0.16%
1990386,365+0.30%
1999388,293+0.06%
2006404,052+0.57%
2011415,168+0.54%
2016414,789−0.02%
source:[8][9]

The population peaked at 505,789 in 1851 according to that year's census. After that the population declined to 373,000 by 1975. This reflected the long term population decline observed in many of the rural departments resulting from changes in agriculture and the lure of higher industrial wages available in more urbanized regions.[citation needed] Between 1975 and 2010, the population increased again, reaching 415,000.[9]

Dordogne has a British immigrant community. The region has between 5,000 and 10,000 British residents[citation needed] and 800 British entrepreneurs, drawn by the French lifestyle, warm climate, and lower cost of living. The village of Eymet is at the heart of the trend, with 200 British families among 2,600 inhabitants.[10]

Politics

The President of the General Council is Germinal Peiro of the Socialist Party.

[needs update]

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

There are more than 1,500 castles in Dordogne, making it "The Other Chateau Country"[12] including:

The famous caves of Lascaux have been closed to the public, but a replica 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.

Dordogne is particularly popular with Britons and other foreigners, as a location for second homes.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. ^ (US) and . Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Dordogne". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  5. ^ Chassain, Hervé (1 March 2023). "Recensement : pourquoi la Dordogne perd encore des habitants" (in French). ISSN 1760-6454. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  6. ^ Corbin Alain, Le village des "cannibales", Paris, Aubier, 1990, 204 p.
  7. ^ "Populations légales 2019: 24 Dordogne" (PDF). INSEE. December 2021. (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Historique de la Dordogne". Le SPLAF.
  9. ^ a b "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
  10. ^ "From 'Dordogneshire' to Normandy, Brits race for French office". 7 March 2008.
  11. ^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
  12. ^ Woods, Katherine (1931). The Other Chateau Country; the Feudal Land of the Dordogne. John Lane The Bodley Head.
  13. ^ Dare Hall, Zoe (5 June 2019). "Why Dordogne property seduces British buyers". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dordogne.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Dordogne.
  • Préfecture website (in French)
  • Departmental Council website (in French)
  • Dordogne at Curlie (in English)

August 23, 2023
dordogne, this, article, about, french, department, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, tone, style, reflect, encyclopedic, tone, used, wikipedia, wikipedia, guide, writing, better, articles, suggestions, january, 2018, learn, when, remove, this, templ. This article is about the French department For other uses see Dordogne disambiguation This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Dordogne UK d ɔːr ˈ d ɔɪ n dor DOYN US d ɔːr ˈ d oʊ n dor DOHN or d ɔːr ˈ d ɔː n j e dor DAWN ye 3 4 French dɔʁdɔɲ listen Occitan Dordonha duɾˈduɲɔ is a large rural department in Southwestern France with its prefecture in Perigueux Located in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region roughly half way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees it is named after the river Dordogne which runs through it It corresponds roughly to the ancient county of Perigord In 2019 Dordogne had a population of 413 223 5 Dordogne Dordonha Occitan DepartmentFrom top down left to right prefecture building in Perigueux Chateau de Castelnaud la Chapelle river Lourde and La Roque GageacFlagCoat of armsLocation of Dordogne in FranceCoordinates 45 0 N 0 40 E 45 000 N 0 667 E 45 000 0 667CountryFranceRegionNouvelle AquitainePrefecturePerigueuxSubprefecturesBergeracNontronSarlat la CanedaGovernment President of the Departmental CouncilGerminal Peiro 1 PS Area1 Total9 060 km2 3 500 sq mi Population Jan 2020 2 Total412 807 Rank60th Density46 km2 120 sq mi Time zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Department number24Arrondissements4Cantons25Communes503 1 French Land Register data which exclude estuaries and lakes ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2 1 Principal towns 3 Demographics 4 Politics 4 1 Current National Assembly Representatives 5 Tourism 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The county of Perigord dates back to when the area was inhabited by the Gauls It was originally 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 Perigord and its inhabitants became known as the Perigordins or Perigourdins There are four Perigords in the Dordogne The Perigord Vert Green Perigord with its main town of Nontron consists of verdant valleys in a region crossed by many rivers and streams The Perigord Blanc White Perigord situated around the department s capital of Perigueux is a region of limestone plateaux wide valleys and meadows The Perigord Pourpre Purple Perigord with its capital of Bergerac is a wine region The Perigord Noir Black Perigord surrounding the administrative center of Sarlat overlooks the valleys of the Vezere and the Dordogne where the woods of oak and pine give it its name The river Dordogne near Castelnaud la ChapelleThe Petrocores took part in the resistance against Rome Concentrated in a few major sites are the vestiges of the Gallo Roman period the gigantic ruined tower and arenas in Perigueux formerly Vesone the Perigord museum s archaeological collections villa remains in Montcaret and the Roman tower of La Rigale Castle in Villetoureix The earliest cluzeaux artificial caves either above or below ground can be found throughout the Dordogne These subterranean refuges and lookout huts were large enough to shelter entire local populations According to Julius Caesar the Gauls took refuge in these caves during the resistance After Guienne province was transferred to the English Crown under the Plantagenets following the remarriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152 Perigord passed by right to English suzerainty Being situated at the boundaries of influence of the monarchies of France and England it oscillated between the two dynasties for more than three hundred years of struggle until the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453 The county had been torn apart and as a consequence that modeled its physiognomy During the calmer periods of the late 15th and early 16th centuries the Castillon plain on the banks of the Dordogne saw a development in urban architecture The finest Gothic and Renaissance residences were built in Perigueux Bergerac and Sarlat In the countryside the nobility erected the majority of the more than 1200 chateaux manors and country houses In the second half of the 16th century however war was waged in the area as the attacks pillaging and fires of the Wars of Religion reached a rare degree of violence in Perigord At the time Bergerac was one of the most powerful Huguenot strongholds along with La Rochelle Following these wars Perigord fief of Henry of Navarre was to return to the Crown for good and would continue to suffer 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 the region s most important literary figures Arnaut Daniel Bertran de Born Michel de Montaigne Etienne de La Boetie Brantome Fenelon Maine de Biran Eugene Le Roy and Andre Maurois its great captains Talleyrand Saint Exupery Biron and even entertainer and activist Josephine Baker A number of ruins La Chapelle Faucher I Herm have retained the memory of the tragedies that took place within their walls Several of the castles and chateaux are open to visitors some of them such as Bourdeilles and Mareuil house noteworthy collections In addition to its castles chateaux churches bastides and cave fortresses the Perigord region has preserved since centuries past a number of villages that still have their market halls dovecotes bories stone huts churches abbeys and castles Saint Leon sur Vezere Connezac Saint Jean de Cole La Roque Gageac and many others contain important and visually interesting architectural examples The old quarters of Perigueux or Bergerac have been restored and developed into pedestrian areas A number of small towns such as Brantome Issigeac Eymet and Mareuil have withstood the changes of modern times A special mention should be made in this respect to Sarlat and its Black Perigord area Dordogne is one of the original 83 departments created on 4 March 1790 during the French Revolution It was created from the former province of Perigord the county of Perigord Its borders continued to change over subsequent decades In 1793 the communes of Boisseuilh Coubjours Genis Payzac Saint Cyr les Champagnes Saint Mesmin Salagnac Savignac Saint Trie and Teillots were transferred from Correze to Dordogne In 1794 Dordogne ceded Cavarc to Lot et Garonne Later in 1794 albeit during the subsequent year under the Republican Calendar in use at the time Dordogne gained Parcoul from Charente Inferieure Following the restoration in 1819 the commune of Bonrepos was suppressed and merged with the adjacent commune of Souillac in Lot In 1870 shortly after France fought against Prussia in a war that the enemy was winning a young aristocrat called Alain de Moneys was savagely tortured and then burned by a crowd of between 300 and 800 people for two hours on 16 August in a public square in the village of Hautefaye in the north west of the department Details of the incident remain unclear the leading participants appear to have been drunk and before the introduction of mass education most of the witnesses would have been unable and possibly unwilling to write down what they saw But at some stage the victim died and following a trial four individuals identified as culpable were in turn condemned to die by guillotine The sentence was carried out in the same public square on 13 February 1885 It was suggested that the victim had reported the bad news of the war in a way that implied support for the enemy although subsequently it became clear that his patriotic credentials were beyond reproach It was also suggested that the mob had been antagonized when he called out Vive la Republique Long live the republic at a time when the patriotic villagers valued the imperial regime which Parisian revolutionaries were in the process of destroying This incident has been studied by historian Alain Corbin 6 among others Geography EditThe department is part of the region of Nouvelle Aquitaine and is surrounded by the six departements of Haute Vienne Correze Lot Lot et Garonne Gironde Charente Maritime and Charente Dordogne is the third largest department of metropolitan France In total area it is larger than Cyprus and smaller than Cape Verde Principal towns Edit The most populous commune is Perigueux the prefecture As of 2019 there are 9 communes with more than 5 000 inhabitants 7 Commune Population 2019 Perigueux 29 896Bergerac 26 693Boulazac Isle Manoire 10 737Sarlat la Caneda 8 816Coulounieix Chamiers 7 387Trelissac 7 006Terrasson Lavilledieu 6 266Montpon Menesterol 5 704Saint Astier 5 352Demographics EditHistorical populationYearPop p a 1791433 343 1801409 475 0 56 1806424 113 0 70 1821453 136 0 44 1831482 750 0 64 1841490 263 0 15 1851505 789 0 31 1861501 687 0 08 1872480 141 0 40 1881495 037 0 34 1891478 471 0 34 1901452 951 0 55 1911437 432 0 35 1921396 742 0 97 YearPop p a 1931383 720 0 33 1936386 963 0 17 1946387 643 0 02 1954377 870 0 32 1962375 455 0 08 1968374 073 0 06 1975373 179 0 03 1982377 356 0 16 1990386 365 0 30 1999388 293 0 06 2006404 052 0 57 2011415 168 0 54 2016414 789 0 02 Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues source 8 9 The population peaked at 505 789 in 1851 according to that year s census After that the population declined to 373 000 by 1975 This reflected the long term population decline observed in many of the rural departments resulting from changes in agriculture and the lure of higher industrial wages available in more urbanized regions citation needed Between 1975 and 2010 the population increased again reaching 415 000 9 Dordogne has a British immigrant community The region has between 5 000 and 10 000 British residents citation needed and 800 British entrepreneurs drawn by the French lifestyle warm climate and lower cost of living The village of Eymet is at the heart of the trend with 200 British families among 2 600 inhabitants 10 Politics EditThe President of the General Council is Germinal Peiro of the Socialist Party Party seats Socialist Party 34Union for a Popular Movement 5 French Communist Party 4Miscellaneous right 5 Union of Democrats and Independents 2 needs update Current National Assembly Representatives Edit Constituency Member 11 PartyDordogne s 1st constituency Philippe Chassaing La Republique En Marche Dordogne s 2nd constituency Michel Delpon La Republique En Marche Dordogne s 3rd constituency Jean Pierre Cubertafon MoDemDordogne s 4th constituency Jacqueline Dubois La Republique En Marche Tourism Edit Perigueux Chateau de Beynac Lascaux Canoeing on the Dordogne River La Roque Gageac Cabanes du BreuilChateau de Mauriac Douzillac Maison forte de ReignacThere are more than 1 500 castles in Dordogne making it The Other Chateau Country 12 including Beynac Biron Manoir de la Borie Fricart Bourdeilles Castelnaud la Chapelle Chanterac Chatenet Commarque Hautefort Manoir de Jaillac Jaurias La Besse La Mothe La Petite Filolie La Renaudie La Roche La Roque Manoir de Mitonias Milandes Monbazillac Manoir de Grezignac Manoir de la Vermondie Manoir des Pautis Pecany Puymartin Saulnier The famous caves of Lascaux have been closed to the public but a replica of Lascaux II is open to visitors and is a major tourist attraction Perigueux has important Roman ruins including an arena which is still visible inside a public park located near the town centre Dordogne is particularly popular with Britons and other foreigners as a location for second homes 13 See also EditArrondissements of the Dordogne department Cantons of the Dordogne department Communes of the Dordogne department Coderc PlazaReferences Edit Repertoire national des elus les conseillers departementaux data gouv fr Plateforme ouverte des donnees publiques francaises in French 4 May 2022 Telechargement du fichier d ensemble des populations legales en 2020 The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies 29 December 2022 Dordogne US and Dordogne Lexico UK English Dictionary Oxford University Press Archived from the original on 30 July 2020 Dordogne Merriam Webster Dictionary Retrieved 2 September 2018 Chassain Herve 1 March 2023 Recensement pourquoi la Dordogne perd encore des habitants in French ISSN 1760 6454 Retrieved 14 July 2023 Corbin Alain Le village des cannibales Paris Aubier 1990 204 p Populations legales 2019 24 Dordogne PDF INSEE December 2021 Archived PDF from the original on 5 January 2022 Historique de la Dordogne Le SPLAF a b Evolution et structure de la population en 2016 INSEE From Dordogneshire to Normandy Brits race for French office 7 March 2008 Nationale Assemblee Assemblee nationale Les deputes le vote de la loi le Parlement francais Assemblee nationale Woods Katherine 1931 The Other Chateau Country the Feudal Land of the Dordogne John Lane The Bodley Head Dare Hall Zoe 5 June 2019 Why Dordogne property seduces British buyers Financial Times Archived from the original on 10 December 2022 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dordogne Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Dordogne Prefecture website in French Departmental Council website in French Dordogne at Curlie in English Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dordogne amp oldid 1171371000, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.