Brive-la-Gaillarde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Brive-la-Gaillarde |
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| Location | |
| Coordinates | 45° 09' 35" N 01° 32' 02" E |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Limousin |
| Department | Corrèze (sous-préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Brive-la-Gaillarde |
| Canton | Chief town of 5 cantons |
| Intercommunality | Brive |
| Mayor | Bernard Murat (UMP) (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 102 m–315 m (avg. 142 m) |
| Land area¹ | 48.59 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
(Brivistes) 49,141 |
| - Density | 1,011/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 19031/ 19100 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi 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. Its population as of the 1999 census was 49,141 inhabitants. Although it is by far the most populous commune in Corrèze, the préfecture (capital) resides in the much smaller commune of Tulle.
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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.
- 1966-1995: Jean Charbonnel
- 1995-present: Bernard Murat
The city is home to a rugby union team, CA Brive.
Brive-la-Gaillarde was the birthplace of:
- Guillaume Dubois (1656–1723), cardinal and statesman
- Pierre André Latreille (1762–1833), entomologist
- Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763–1815), marshal of France
- Dimitri Yachvili (1980– ), French international rugby union player
- Pierre-André Valade (1959– ), conductor
- Cédric Heymans (1978– ), French international rugby union player
Lauf an der Pegnitz (Germany)
Joliette (Québec, Canada)
Sikasso (Mali)
Guimarães (Portugal)
Melitopol (Ukraine)
Dunstable, (England, United Kingdom) until 2005
- Official website (French)