Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former
administrative region
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of southwest-central
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 ...
. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new
administrative region
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
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 ...
.
It comprised three
departments:
Corrèze
Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ...
,
Creuse
Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...
, and
Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...
.
Situated mostly in the west side of south-central French
Massif Central
The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.
Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
, Limousin had (in 2010) 742,770 inhabitants
[ spread out on nearly , making it the least populated region of ]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 ...
.
Forming part of the southwest of the country, Limousin is bordered by the regions of Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley ...
to the north, Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...
to the east, Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by are ...
to the south, Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...
to the southwest, and Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
to the west. Limousin is also part of the larger historical Occitania
Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...
region.
Population
The population of Limousin is aging and, until 1999, was declining. The department of Creuse has the oldest population of any in France. Between 1999 and 2004 the population of Limousin increased slightly, reversing a decline for the first time in decades.
Major communities
* Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...
* Guéret
Guéret (; Occitan: ''Garait'') is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France.
Geography
Guéret is a light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland a ...
* Limoges
Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...
* Panazol
Panazol (; oc, Panasòu) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. It is an eastern suburb of Limoges.
Panazol is the third largest town in the department (by population), after Limoges ...
* Saint-Junien
Saint-Junien (; oc, Sent Junian) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Its sister city is Jumet, Belgium.
History
The history of Saint-Junien began in AD 500, when an ascetic of ...
* Tulle
Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...
* Ussel
History
Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France
The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 2 ...
. Its name derives from that of a Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic tribe, the Lemovices
The Lemovīcēs (Gaulish: *''Lēmouīcēs'', 'those who vanquish by the elm') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Limousin region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Lemovices'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. B ...
, who had their capital at Saint-Denis-des-Murs and whose main sanctuary was recently found in Tintignac
Tintignac is a hamlet near Naves in the Corrèze region of France. It is primarily known for the archaeological remains of a sanctuary where Gallic and Gallo-Roman artefacts have been found, including seven carnyces (war trumpets) and ornamente ...
, a site which became a major site for Celtic studies thanks to unique objects which were found – such as the carnyces, unique in the whole Celtic world.Official website of Tintignac-Naves
/ref>
Viscount Aimar V of Limoges Aimar V,(c. 1135 – c. 1199), was a Viscount of Limoges, a nobleman in the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Life
Born in Limoges around 1135, his family named him Boson, he later adopted the traditional name for the previous viscounts, Aimar. He was orpha ...
( – ) was a notable ruler of the region.
Language
Until the 1970s, Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
was the primary language of rural areas. There remain several different Occitan dialects in use in Limousin, although their use is rapidly declining. These are:
* Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
( oc, Lemosin) dialect
* Auvergnat
or (endonym: ) is a northern dialect of Occitan spoken in central and southern France, in particular in the former administrative region of Auvergne.
Currently, research shows that there is not really a true Auvergnat dialect but rather a va ...
( oc, Auvernhat) dialect in the East/North-East
* Languedocien
Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian or Lengadocian (), is an Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and Southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Languedocien-Guyennai ...
( oc, Lengadocian) in the Southern fringe of Corrèze
Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ...
* in the North, the Crescent transition area between Occitan and French is sometimes considered as a separate (basically Occitan) dialect called Marchois ( oc, Marchés).
Transportation
* The word limousine
A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment.
A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...
is derived from the name of the region. A particular type of carriage hood or roof physically resembled the raised hood of the cloak worn by the shepherds there.
Notable residents
From Corrèze
From Creuse
From Haute-Vienne
See also
* Limousin (province)
Limousin ( oc, Lemosin) is a former province of the Kingdom of France. It existed from 1589 until 1790, when the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts (''arrondissements ...
, former province of France under the ''Ancien Régime''.
* Limousin (cattle)
The Limousin, french: italic=no, Limousine, is a French breed of beef cattle from the Limousin and Marche regions of France. It was formerly used mainly as a draught animal, but in modern times is reared for beef. A herd-book was establish ...
, breed of beef cattle bred in the Limousin region.
* Limousin (dialect)
Limousin (French name, ; oc, lemosin, ) is a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the three departments of Limousin, parts of Charente and the Dordogne in the southwest of France.
The first Occitan documents are in an early form of this ...
, Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
dialect of the region.
* TER Limousin
TER Limousin was the regional rail network serving Limousin région, France. In 2017, it was merged into the new TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Network
By train
By bus
* Limoges – Uzerche – Tulle
* Limoges – Aubusson – Felletin
* Ussel ...
Footnotes
External links
Limousin : the “château d'eau”
- Official French website (in English)
*
Limousin regional council website
with a presentation video in English.
*
Art in the Limousin region
*
History and Geography (University of Limoges)
{{Authority control
Massif Central
History of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
History of Corrèze
History of Dordogne
History of Haute-Vienne
Former regions of France
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
1956 establishments in France
States and territories established in 1956
2015 disestablishments in France
States and territories disestablished in 2015
France geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia