Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest

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

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of Southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Named after the

Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Gar ...

, a major waterway, its

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 ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.Populations légales 2019: 33 Gironde
INSEE The famous Bordeaux wine region is in Gironde. It has six arrondissements, making it one of the departments with the most arrondissements (

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

also has six, while

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

has the most of any department, with seven).

History

Gironde is one of the original 83 departments created during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. From 1793 to 1795, the department's name was changed to ''Bec-d'Ambès'' to avoid the association with the Girondist political party of the French Revolution. In July 2022, Gironde was affected by large wildfires.

Geography

Gironde is part of the current region of

and is surrounded by the departments of

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word '' ...

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) 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 af ...

and Charente-Maritime and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on the west. With an area of 10,000 km², Gironde is the largest department in

metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846 km² of

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. Gironde is well known for the

Côte d'Argent Côte d’Argent (; ) is a name given to part of the Atlantic coast of the Aquitaine region in France. Etymology The term was first coined to describe the Aquitaine coast in 1905 by the journalist and poet Maurice Martin. The Congrès national d ...

beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many surfers to

Lacanau Lacanau (; oc, label= Gascon, La Canau, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Lacanau is a surfing area. Lacanau is a member of the Community of Municipalities Médoc's Lakes which includes the munic ...

each year. It is also the birthplace of Jacques-Yves Cousteau who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. The Great Dune of Pyla in Arcachon Bay near Bordeaux is the tallest sand dune in Europe.C.G. (14 August 2009). Les Adresses de Mathilde Seigner et Fabien Onteniente. ''

Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper ''Le Figaro''. History and profile The magazine is the first supplement of ''Le Figaro'' n ...

''.

Demographics

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 30,000 inhabitants:

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is Jean-Luc Gleyze of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

File:Place-Bourse Bordeaux-boosted-colours.jpg,

File:Cave Blanc Château de Rochemorin.JPG, Bordeaux wine File:Dune du pyla 2009.JPG, The Great Dune of Pyla File:Arcachon tchanquée.JPG, Arcachon Bay File:Bourg-sur-Gironde2.jpg, Bourg-sur-Gironde File:Château de La Brède en Gironde.jpg, Château de la Brède, birthplace of

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

File:France - Blaye - La Gironde depuis la citadelle.jpg, The

seen from the citadel of

Blaye Blaye (; oc, Blaia ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordeau ...

File:Les Grottes de Ferrand.jpg,

Grottoes of Ferrand The Grottoes of Ferrand ( French: ''Grottes de Ferrand'') are a series of 17th-century artificial grottoes on the estate of the Château de Ferrand in Saint-Hippolyte, Gironde, in southwestern France, near the town of Saint-Émilion. Carved out ...

File:Château des Freytets nouveau château d'Eck cadaujac.JPG, Château d'Eck

References

External links

*
Departmental Council website
*
Prefecture website
* *
Tourism Office website
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790