Bergerac (; ) is a subprefecture of the Dordogne

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,823, which made it the department's second-most populated after the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Périgueux. Located on the banks of the river Dordogne, Bergerac was designated a Town of Art and History by the Ministry of Culture in 2013.

History

In 1565, Charles IX of France visited Bergerac during his grand tour. On 17 September 1577, amidst the French Wars of Religion, the

Treaty of Bergerac The Treaty of Bergerac was signed at Bergerac on 14 September 1577 between Henry III of France and Huguenot princes, and later ratified by the Edict of Poitiers on 17 September.Knecht, The French Civil Wars (2000), p208 This accord was developed ...

, also known as the Peace of Bergerac (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Paix de Bergerac''), was signed between

Henri III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Li ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

to put a temporary end to the conflict. The treaty was negotiated by important figures on each side of the conflict, namely Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy and Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron on the King's side and

François de la Noue François de la Noue (1531 – August 4, 1591), called Bras-de-Fer (Iron Arm), was one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century. He was born near Nantes in 1531, of an ancient Breton family. He served in Italy under Marshal Brissac, and in th ...

and

François, Duke of Montpensier François de Bourbon (1542 – 4 June 1592) was the Duke of Montpensier and member of the House of Bourbon. He was the brother of Charlotte de Bourbon, Princess of Orange and wife of William the Silent, ''Prince of Orange''. He was the great g ...

on the Protestant side. Bergerac, which was a site where members of the French Resistance in Dordogne were incarcerated and interrogated during World War II, was freed from

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

on 21 August 1944.

Demographics

Climate

Economy

The region is primarily known for wine and tobacco. It has twelve recognised wine AOCs (''appellations d'origine contrôlée''): * Bergerac * Bergerac Rosé * Bergerac Sec (dry) * Côtes-de-Bergerac * Côtes de Bergerac Blanc * Côtes de Montravel * Montravel (red and white) * Haut-Montravel *

Saussignac Saussignac (; oc, Saussinhac) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is in the heart of Bergerac wine country and produces sweet white wines. Its village centre has a Poste and Mairie. The villag ...

* Monbazillac * Pécharmant * Rosette

Immigration

Bergerac is home to a population of British people who frequently identify as 'expats' rather than immigrants. This trend is not unique to Bergerac and is evident throughout the Dordogne. In part, this is driven by house prices which are very affordable when compared with either the French or British national averages. The increasing British presence has led to some integration initiatives such as the non-profit Université du Temps Libre which offers French language classes and a programme of cultural activities.

Tourism

The town has a growing tourism industry. The region's association with wines is also a key motivating factor for much tourism with wine tours, chateau visits and a wine house by the river which features an exhibition on the history of wine growing. Nearby sites for tourists include the

Arboretum de Podestat An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

, Château de Monbazillac, the town museum, statue museum, and tobacco museum. The church of Notre Dame is located in the town centre. The

Dordogne River The Dordogne (; oc, Dordonha) is a river in south-central and southwest France. It is long. The Dordogne and its watershed were designated Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO on July 11 2012. Geography The river rises on the flanks of the Puy de S ...

is also a significant tourist attraction for river boat tours and kayak rental.

Cyrano de Bergerac

The town contains two statues of Cyrano de Bergerac, subject of a famous eponymous play by

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

. An old stone statue stands on Place de la Myrpe, facing Place du Docteur Cayla. A newer statue, painted in colour and standing on a stainless steel pedestal, has been erected on Place Pelissiere.

Transport

Bergerac is served by Bergerac-Roumanière Airport (code EGC), which has internal flights, as well as routes to UK airports including Southampton, Bristol, Manchester,

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

, London Luton, Edinburgh,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, Liverpool, Birmingham,

Leeds Bradford Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and th ...

and London Stansted Airport. Transavia also flies to Bergerac from Amsterdam. Bergerac has an

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

station with regular services to Bordeaux and

Sarlat-la-Canéda Sarlat-la-Canéda (; oc, Sarlat e La Canedat), commonly known as Sarlat, is a commune in the southwestern French department of Dordogne, a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Sarlat and La Canéda were distinct towns until merged into one commune in 196 ...

. A weekday bus service operates between Bergerac and Périgueux, mainly serving school commuters.

Education

Bergerac is located within the Bordeaux

Académie An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

, which covers the entire former Aquitaine region. The main high school is Lycée Maine de Biran. Other high schools in the town include the private school Institution Sainte-Marthe Saint-Front, Lycée Jean Capelle and Lycée Professionnel de l'Alba.

International relations

Bergerac, Dordogne is twinned with: * Repentigny, Canada, since 1997 *

Faenza Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...

, Italy, since 1998 *

Kenitra Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou River, Sebou river, has a popul ...

, Morocco, since 2016 *

Ostrów Wielkopolski Ostrów Wielkopolski () (often abbreviated ''Ostrów Wlkp.'', formerly called simply ''Ostrów'', german: Ostrowo, Latin: ''Ostrovia'') is a city in west-central Poland with 70,982 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; ...

, Poland, since 2017 * Hohen Neuendorf, Germany, since 2018

References

External links

*
Bergerac airport
{{authority control Communes of Dordogne Dordogne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Périgord Subprefectures in France