Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (; oc, Senta Fe la Granda) is a commune 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 1,6 ...
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 ...
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 on the south bank of the
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 ...
.
History
The town was founded in 1076, near a
priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...
where Sainte Foy was worshipped. The town grew rapidly, and it was renamed to Sainte-Foy-la-Grande in 1363 to distinguish it from towns with similar names in the region. A lot of the town is made from medieval buildings which date back to the 15th century. The town was known for its wine trade and port, where ships left and carried caskets of wine to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
During the French reformation in the 16th century, Sainte-Foy became a centre of
Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
, known as "Little Geneva"; held by the
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...
during the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...
, the town was fought over by both sides. Even after Protestant worship was banned by the 1685
Edict of Fontainebleau
The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without ...
, the faith continued to be practised in secret, and in 1828, it became the location of one of the first Protestant schools established in France since 1685.
Population
Notable natives and residents
*
Louis Pierre Gratiolet
Louis Pierre Gratiolet (; 6 July 1815 – 16 February 1865) was a French anatomist and zoologist who was a native of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde. He succeeded Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805-1861) as professor of zoology to the Faculty ...
, anatomist and zoologist, was born here in 1815.
*
Paul Broca
Pierre Paul Broca (, also , , ; 28 June 1824 – 9 July 1880) was a French physician, anatomist and anthropologist. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe that is named after him. Broca's area is involve ...
, surgeon and anthropologist.
* Jacques Dejean, classical violinist, died here in 2013.
*
Élie Reclus
Élie Reclus (; 1827–1904) was a French ethnographer and anarchist.
Élie Reclus was the oldest of five brothers, born to a Protestant minister and his wife. His middle three brothers, including the well known anarchist Élisée Reclus, all b ...
, ethnographer, was born here.
*
Élisée Reclus
Jacques Élisée Reclus (; 15 March 18304 July 1905) was a French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork, ''La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes'' ("Universal Geography"), over a period of ...
, geographer and anarchist, was born here.
* Onésime Reclus, his older brother and also a notable geographer, lived here for many years.
* Élie Faure, physician, art critic, writer, essayist, was born here in 1873.
* Gaston Aumoitte, croquet-player and olympic gold-medal winner, died here in 1957.
*
Pierre Larthomas Pierre Henri Larthomas (4 June 1915 in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande – 8 July 2000) was a French theatre theorist.L'information grammaticale. N. 88, p. 60 Larthomas entered the French Army in 1930 as a cadet officer and in the Spring of 1940 was awarded ...
(1915-2000), theatre theorist.
*
Rémi Lamerat
Rémi Lamerat (; born 14 January 1990) is a French rugby union player. His position is centre and he currently plays for Bordeaux Bègles in the Top 14. He began his career with Stade Toulousain before moving to Castres in 2012, then onto Clermo ...