Mérignac, Gironde

Mérignac (French pronunciation: ​[meʁiɲak]) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The 20th-century historian Robert Étienne (1921–2009) was born in Mérignac.

Mérignac
Commune
Castle of Bourran
Coat of arms
Location of Mérignac
Mérignac Show map of France Mérignac Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 44°50′19″N 0°38′37″W / 44.8386°N 0.6436°W / 44.8386; -0.6436Coordinates: 44°50′19″N 0°38′37″W / 44.8386°N 0.6436°W / 44.8386; -0.6436
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Gironde
Arrondissement	Bordeaux
Canton	Mérignac-1 and 2
Intercommunality	Bordeaux Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Alain Anziani^[1] (PS)
Area ^1	48.17 km^2 (18.60 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)^[2]	72,197
• Density	1,500/km^2 (3,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	33281 /33700
Elevation	12–53 m (39–174 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is the largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux and adjoins it to the west. It is a member of the Bordeaux Métropole.

Mérignac is the site of Bordeaux International Airport.

Etymology

The name Mérignac derives from the Gallo-Roman word Matriniacus, name of a villa rustica (countryside villa) that was the origin of today's town.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,511 —     1800 2,427 −0.48% 1806 3,039 +3.82% 1821 2,764 −0.63% 1831 3,097 +1.14% 1836 3,034 −0.41% 1841 3,276 +1.55% 1846 3,264 −0.07% 1851 3,648 +2.25% 1856 3,910 +1.40% 1861 4,284 +1.84% 1866 4,450 +0.76% 1872 4,265 −0.71% 1876 4,967 +3.88% 1881 5,162 +0.77% 1886 5,735 +2.13% 1891 6,159 +1.44% 1896 6,713 +1.74%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 7,052 +0.99% 1906 7,421 +1.03% 1911 7,594 +0.46% 1921 9,515 +2.28% 1926 11,939 +4.64% 1931 15,363 +5.17% 1936 17,034 +2.09% 1946 21,417 +2.32% 1954 23,050 +0.92% 1962 32,355 +4.33% 1968 45,951 +6.02% 1975 50,652 +1.40% 1982 51,306 +0.18% 1990 57,273 +1.38% 1999 61,992 +0.88% 2007 66,002 +0.79% 2012 66,660 +0.20% 2017 70,105 +1.01%
Source: EHESS^[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)^[4]

Sights

• Tour de Veyrines : Veyrines Dungeon.
• Château Bourran : Bourran Castle
• Château Le Burck : Le Burck Castle
• Château or Maison Noble du Parc or d'Espagne : Parc Castle or Spain Castle
• Fontaine d'Arlac : Arlac Fountain
• Immeuble Gillet : Gillet Building
• La glacière : the icehouse
• La vieille église : the old Roman church
• Maison carrée d'Arlac : Peychotte's folly (Square House) in Arlac

Parks and gardens

• Parc de Bourran :
• Bois du Burck : Burck wood
• Parc de Mérignac :
• Parc Saint-Exupéry :
• Parc du Vivier : the wood around the city hall

Education

The commune has about 5,000 students in the primary and secondary schools in its city. Schools include:^[5]

• 15 public and private preschools^[6]
• 15 public and private elementary schools^[7]
• Four junior high schools: Collège de Bourran, Collège de Capeyron, Collège Jules-Ferry, Collège des Eyquems^[8]
• Two senior high schools: Lycée Fernand Daguin and Lycée professionnel Marcel Dassault^[9]

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Mérignac is twinned with:^[10]

•   Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada
•   Kaolack, Senegal
•   Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain

See also

• Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac
• Communes of the Gironde department

Notable inhabitants

• Albert Dupouy (1901 - 1973): player of rugby to death in Mérignac
• Jean Samazeuilh (1891 - 1965): French tennis player dead in Mérignac
• Nicolas Canteloup, born on November 4, 1963 in Mérignac in the Gironde, is a comedian, French imitator.
• Émile Rummelhardt former professional player and French football coach.

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
2. "Populations légales 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
3. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Mérignac, EHESS. (in French)
4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
5. "Scolarité des 3 – 11 ans." Mérignac, Gironde. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. "Quelque 5 000 enfants sont scolarisés dans la ville."
6. "Ecoles maternelles." Mérignac, Gironde. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. "La ville compte une quinzaine d'écoles maternelles, publiques et privées[...]"
7. "Ecoles élémentaires." Mérignac, Gironde. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. "La ville compte une quinzaine d'écoles élémentaires, publiques et privées,[..."
8. "Collèges." Mérignac, Gironde. Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
9. "Lycées." Mérignac, Gironde. Retrieved on September 6, 2016.
10. "Relations Internationales". merignac.com (in French). Mérignac. Retrieved 2019-11-19.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mérignac, Gironde.

• Official website (in French)
• Official website (in French) (Archive)