Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) 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, ...

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 ...

. It is a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...

of the department. It is the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near

Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938. In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), in ...

and

Pomerol Pomerol (; oc, Pomairòus) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine near Bordeaux in southwestern France. Wine With only . Pomerol is the smallest wine producing area in the Bordea ...

Geography

Libourne is located at the confluence of the Isle and

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 ...

rivers.

Libourne station The gare de Libourne is a railway interchange station in Libourne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Paris - Bordeaux, Bordeaux - Bergerac - Sarlat, Bordeaux - Coutras - Périgueux (Line 24 for Limoges and 25 for Brive) and ...

has rail connections to Bordeaux, Bergerac, Angoulême, Périgueux, Limoges, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Sarlat-la-Canéda.

History

In 1270, ''Leybornia'' was founded as a

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the f ...

Roger de Leybourne Sir Roger de Leybourne (1215–1271) was an English soldier, landowner and royal servant during the Second Barons' War. Origins Roger was the younger son of another Sir Roger de Leybourne, by his first wife, Eleanor, the daughter and heiress ...

(of

Leybourne Leybourne is a small village and civil parish in Kent, England situated off Junction 4 of the M20 Motorway. Leybourne is adjacent to New Hythe, Larkfield and West Malling. As of 2020 Leybourne Parish had a population of 4,372. Historically, the ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

), an English

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

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 ...

, under the authority of King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

. It suffered considerably in the struggles of the French and English for the possession of Gironde in the 14th century, and joined France in the 15th century. In December 1854

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

passed through Libourne, remarking "I stopped at Libourne as I intended & had a walk about it this morning quite the best thing there is the bridge of the Dordogne, the view from which is really fine".The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill Vol XIV, Page 251.

Population

Sights

The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church, restored in the 19th century, has a stone

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

high. On the

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

there is a

machicolated A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, Calcium oxide#Weapon, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dro ...

clock-tower which is a survival of the

defensive walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

of the 14th century. The town-house, containing a small museum and a library, is a quaint relic of the 16th century. It is located by the main square, the Place Abel Surchamp, which hosts every weekend one of the largest fresh food market in the region. There is a statue of

Élie, duc Decazes Élie, 1st Duke of Decazes and Glücksbierg (born Élie Louis Decazes; 28 September 178024 October 1860) was a French statesman, leader of the liberal ''Doctrinaires'' party during the Bourbon Restoration. Early life and family Élie Decazes wa ...

, who was born in the region.

Notable people

Eugène Atget Eugène Atget (; 12 February 1857 – 4 August 1927) was a French ''flâneur'' and a pioneer of documentary photography, noted for his determination to document all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to mod ...

(1857–1927), French photographer, "Creator and Purveyor of a Collection of Photographic Views of Old France *

Florian Latorre Florian Latorre (born April 24, 1997 in Libourne, France) is a French racing driver from Auriolles, France. He currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for TF Sport. Career Latorre made his professional debut in the 2013 U.S. ...

(born 1997), racing driver *

Louis Le Provost de Launay Louis Le Provost de Launay (8 June 1850 – 17 August 1912) was a French politician who was Deputy and then Senator for the department of Côtes-du-Nord (now called Côtes-d'Armor). He was a right-wing Bonapartist. Early years Louis Le Provost ...

(1850–1912), French deputy and senator *

Jean-Marie Londeix Jean-Marie Londeix (20 September 1932) is a French saxophonist born in Libourne who studied saxophone, piano, harmony and chamber music.Ingham, Richard (ed.)''The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone'' Cambridge University Press (1998) p. 169. Umb ...

(1932–), French saxophonist *

Jean Marcadé Jean Marcadé (27 April 1920 – 28 December 2012 Jean-Marie Poumeyrol Jean-Marie Poumeyrol (born at Libourne on June 8, 1946) is a French artist. Much of his early work consisted of erotica and hallucinogenic art, but as his art has developed he has shown a great interest in landscapes as well. He is an exponent of ...

, (born 1946), artist

References

External links

*
Official website
(in French)
Unofficial website
(in French) {{Authority control Communes of Gironde Subprefectures in France Guyenne