La Réole (; oc, La Rèula) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
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
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 ...
in 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 ...
.
Geography
La Réole is located on the right bank of the Garonne, southeast of
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 ...
by rail.
La Réole station
La Réole is a railway station in La Réole, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Bordeaux–Sète railway line. The station is served by Transport express régional, TER (local) services operated by SNCF.
Train services
Th ...
has rail connections to Agen, Langon and Bordeaux.
History
There is evidence of a Roman villa, ''La Pontesa'', with an adjoining cemetery which has been dated to be from the 3rd or 4th century. There were other Roman villas nearby. At this time in the region, there were Roman buildings every kilometre and a half or so.
Evidence of later dwellings on the ''La Pontesa'' site show that it was inhabited between the 7th and 8th centuries. Nineteen sarcophaguses and funeral articles have been found on this site.
![Map of La Réole, Gironde, 1757](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Map_of_La_R%C3%A9ole%2C_Gironde%2C_1757.jpg)
La Réole grew up round a monastery founded in the 7th or 8th century, which was reformed in the 11th century and took the name of ''Regula'', whence that of the town. During the Middle Ages, La Réole was a royal town, administered by six ''jurats'' (pre-revolution municipal officers), who were elected by the town's ''bourgeois''. The law was upheld in the name of the King. During a significant period of time, La Réole was the second most important town of Guyenne, after Bordeaux. Twice during the 17th century in 1678 and 1690, Bordeaux's parliament was exiled to La Réole.
Population
Sights
The church of St Peter, dating from the end of the 12th century as well as the impressive buildings of the 18th century
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery are still both in use. The monastery currently houses a museum, library and the offices of the current town hall. There is also an old town hall building that dates from the 12th and 14th centuries. The town fortifications were dismantled in 1629 by order of
Richelieu, but remains dating from the 12th and 14th centuries are to be seen, as well as a part of the
Château de Quat'Sos, which was begun by Louis VIII of France and completed by
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
. The south-western tower, called "la Thomasse", still looks over the Garonne river.
Other sites of historical significance in the town include the House of Wine and Art (15th century), the hospital chapel (18th century), Briet's Hotel (17th century) as well as a town centre with cobble streets and houses that date back to the 15th century.
Of more recent note is the suspension bridge that links the town centre to the southern bank of the
Garonne
The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna
or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...
river. The architect responsible for its design was
Gustave Eiffel
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...
, at the time a still little known public servant.
The population in 1906 was 3,469. By the year 2000, inhabitants numbered around 4,200.
Economy
According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1911):
:The town is the centre of. the district in which the well-known breed of
Bazadais
Bazas (; oc-gsc, Vasats) is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France.
Geography
Bazas stands on a narrow promontory above the Beuve valley 60 km/37 mi southeast of Bordeaux and 40 km/25 mi southwest of ...
cattle is reared. It is an agricultural market and carries on trade in the wine of the region together with liqueur distillery and the manufacture of casks, rope, brooms, etc.
As the 20th century progressed, La Réole played the role of a regional economic centre, second to Bordeaux. More recently, the administrative responsibility has moved to nearby
Langon. La Réole now is an important town centre in the Entre deux mers wine region of the Bordeaux classifications and has concentrated on tourism to stimulate the town economy.
Twin towns
La Réole is
twinned with:
*
Oliveira do Douro, Vila Nova de Gaia
Oliveira do Douro is a Portugal, Portuguese List of parishes of Portugal, parish in the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia. The population in 2011 was 22,383, in an area of 7.54 km².
References
Freguesias of Vila Nova de Gaia
{{ ...
, Portugal, since 1992
*
Sacile
Sacile (; vec, Sathìl ; Liventina: ; Western Friulian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pordenone, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy. It is known as the "Garden of the ''Serenissima''" after the many palace ...
, Italy, since 2000
Sport
La Réole has an International Motorcycle circuit Grasstrack circuit. It has hosted many
European Championship meeting as well as the World 1000cc Sidecar Final in 2010.
See also
*
Communes of the Gironde department
The following is a list of the 535 Communes of France, communes of the Gironde Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2020):
References
*
*Brochure issued by the La Réole Office de Tourisme (1995)
*Cantegrel, F (1992) ''Visiter La Réole'' Bordeaux : Editions Sud Ouest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reole
Communes of Gironde
Guyenne