Brive-la-Gaillarde (;

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 ...

of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of

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 subprefectures. ...

and the largest city of the

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 regio ...

department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as " city cluster". * Economies of ag ...

was 75,579 in 2019. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle. In French popular culture, the town is associated with a song by Georges Brassens.

History

Even though the inhabitants settled around the 1st century, the city only started to grow much later. From around the 5th century onwards, the original city began to develop around a church dedicated to Saint-Martin-l'Espagnol. During the 12th century walls were built around the city and during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

a second wall was built. These fortifications no longer exist and have been replaced by boulevards. The commune was named "Brive" until 1919, when it was renamed "Brive-la-Gaillarde". The word "Gaillarde" (still used in current

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 ...

) probably stands for bravery or strength in the city's name, but it can also refer to the city's walls. Brive now extends outside of its original boundaries into Malemort and

Ussac Ussac () is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Corrèze department The following is a list of the 279 communes of the Corrèze department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Brive-la-Gaillarde was a regional capital of the Resistance, acting as a seat of several clandestine information networks and several of the principal resistance movements, including the ''Armée secrète'' (or “ Secret Army”) and the '' Mouvements Unis de la Résistance'' (or "United Movements of the Resistance"). Brive-la-Gaillarde was the first city of

Occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied z ...

to liberate itself by its own means, on 15 August 1944. For this, the city received the “'' Croix de guerre 1939–1945''” military decoration. The medieval centre is mainly a commercial district with retail shops and various cafés. It is also the location of the city hall, the main police station, and the Labenche museum. One notable landmark outside the inner city is the ''Pont Cardinal'', a bridge which used to be a crossing point for travelers from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

Climate

Administration

The most recent mayors of Brive-la-Gaillarde were: * 1966–1995: Jean Charbonnel * 1995–2008: Bernard Murat * 2008–present: Philippe Nauche

Population

Transport

Brive-la-Gaillarde railway station offers connections to Limoges,

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also ...

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 prefectu ...

, and several regional destinations. The A20 motorway connects Brive with Limoges and Toulouse, the A89 with Bordeaux.

Brive–Souillac Airport Brive–Souillac Airport , also ''Brive–Dordogne Valley Airport'' (french: Aéroport de Brive – Vallée de la Dordogne), is an international airport located south of Brive-la-Gaillarde, a ''commune'' of the Corrèze department in the Nouvel ...

lies south of the city. It was opened in 2010 to replace the older Brive-La Roche Airport.

Sport

The city is home to a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team,

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition. Briv ...

. It also hosted the 2009 Junior World Rowing Championships.

Notable inhabitants

Guillaume Dubois Guillaume Dubois (6 September 1656 – 10 August 1723) was a French cardinal and statesman. Life and government Early years Dubois, the third of the four great Cardinal-Ministers ( Richelieu, Mazarin, Dubois, and Fleury), was born in Brive-la- ...

(1656–1723),

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

and statesman * Pierre André Latreille (1762–1833),

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

Jean-Baptiste Treilhard Jean-Baptiste Treilhard (; 3 January 1742 – 1 December 1810) was an important French statesman of the revolutionary period. He passed through the troubled times of the Republic and Empire with great political savvy, playing a decisive role at ...

(born 3 January 1742 in Brive-la-Gaillarde – died December 1810 in

) was a French jurist and politician at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century. * Nicolas Ernault des Bruslys, born on 7 August 1757 in Brive-la-Gaillarde and died on 25 September 1809 in Reunion, is a French general of the Revolution and the Empire. * Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763–1815),

marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

* Michel Labrousse (1912–1988), scholar of Roman history *

David Feuerwerker David Feuerwerker (October 2, 1912 – June 20, 1980) was a French Jewish rabbi and professor of Jewish history who was effective in the resistance to German occupation the Second World War. He was completely unsuspected until six months before ...

(1912–1980) was a rabbi and professor of French Jewish history (Geneva, 2 October 1912 – Montreal, 20 June 1980). *

Antoinette Feuerwerker Antoinette Feuerwerker (24 November 1912 – 10 February 2003) was a French jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance during the Second World War. Early years Antoinette (Antonia, Toni, Toibe Rochel) Gluck was born in Antwerp (Borge ...

(1912–2003) Belgian lawyer and educator, wife of David Feuerwerker; Member of the Combat movement in Limousin alongside Edmond Michelet; * Alceste De Ambris (born 15 September 1874 to Licciana Nardi, and died December 9, 1934, in Brive-la-Gaillard), an Italian politician and syndicalist; * Robert Margerit (1910–1988), writer. * Edmond Michelet (1899–1970), politician, leader of the Movement Combat Limousin; arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

in Brive in February 1943; died in the village of Marcillac, the town of Brive; * Patrick Sebastien (born 1953), imitator, actor, singer, television host. * Xavier Patier (1958– ), civil servant and writer * Cédric Villani (1973– ), mathematician; Fields Medalist in 2010 * Cédric Heymans (1978– ), French international

player *

Dimitri Yachvili Dimitri Yachvili Markarian (born 19 September 1980, in Brive-la-Gaillarde, Corrèze) is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Biarritz and France. He played for France from 2002 to 2012, earning 61 caps and scori ...

(1980– ), French international

player * Damian Penaud (1996– ), French international

player *

Marine Serre Marine Serre (born December 13, 1991) is a French fashion designer who won the 2017 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Early life Serre was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde nearby Corrèze, France. She studied in Marseille and after two years she ...

(1991– ), French fashion designer * Michaud Clara (2005- )

Twin towns – sister cities

Brive-la-Gaillarde is twinned with: * Guimarães, Portugal * Joliette, Canada *

Lauf an der Pegnitz Lauf an der Pegnitz (; Northern Bavarian: ''Lauf an da Pegnitz'') is a town to the East of Nuremberg, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nürnberger Land, in Bavaria. It is in the valley of the River Pegnitz, which flows through the to ...

, Germany * Melitopol, Ukraine * Sikasso, Mali

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brivelagaillarde Communes of Corrèze Subprefectures in France Lemovices Limousin Corrèze communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia