Corrèze (; ) is a département in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Corrèze, in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle- ...

, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

, on the border with Occitania and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. In 2019, Corrèze had a population of 240,073,Populations légales 2019: 19 Corrèze
INSEE divided among 279 communes. Its inhabitants are called ''Corréziens'' (masculine) and ''Corréziennes'' (feminine). Its INSEE and postal code is 19.

Geography

The department makes up of most of Lower Limousin and owes its name to the Corrèze river whose entire course flows through the centre, and passes through the two main cities,

and Brive-la-Gaillarde. Tulle is the

of Corrèze, and Brive-la-Gaillarde the largest city.

Location

Since 2015, the department is administered by the

. To the north, it borders the departments of

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

and the

Creuse Creuse (; 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 east, Cor ...

, to the east, the departments of

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.Cantal Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...

, to the south of that of the Lot and, finally, to the west of that of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

Geology and relief

Located west of the Massif Central, it consists of three zones: the Mountains (''Montagne''), the plateaus and the Brive Basin. The mountains' peak at 977 m at Mount Bessou. Its Rhenohercynian Zone formation is quite eroded. The plateaus have deep valleys that head towards the

river, such as at the Gimel waterfalls. South-west of Corrèze, the Brive sedimentary basin enjoys a more favourable climate. There are sandstone hills like Collonges-la-Rouge.

Hydrography

The department is crossed by several rivers, such as

Vézère The Vézère (; ) is a 211-km-long river in southwestern France. It is an important tributary to the Dordogne (river), Dordogne. Its source is in the northwestern part of the elevated plateau known as the Massif Central. It flows into the Dordog ...

, Corrèze or the Dordogne.

Climate

The department transitions between the

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

and the Massif Central, the Corrèze department sees its elevation gradually rise from the basin of Brive to the Plateau de Millevaches, watershed of the Atlantic facade. This relief explains the wide variety of climates of Corrèze.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Brive-la-Gaillarde; the prefecture

is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants:

History

Corrèze is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It includes part of the former province of Limousin (the Bas-Limousin). Within Corrèze the nineteenth-century railway planners, influenced in part by the department's topography, endowed Brive-la-Gaillarde with good connections and a major junction from which railway lines fanned out in six different directions. The railways arrived in 1860, at an opportune moment, directly after phylloxera had destroyed the local wine industry. The new railways enabled the farms in the area surrounding Brive to specialise in fruits and vegetables which they could now transport rapidly to the larger population centres of central and southern France. Locally, the new agriculture triggered the development, in the Brive basin, of related businesses and industries such as the manufacture of jams and liquors, as well as timber/paper-based packaging businesses.

Demographics

The 1851 census recorded a population of 320,866: this remained relatively constant for the rest of the nineteenth century. During the twentieth century, however, Corrèze shared the experience of many of the country's rural departments as the population fell steadily.

Politics

The President of the General Council was

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

of the Socialist Party until 2012 when he was elected President of the Republic. Jacques Chirac also served as a Deputy of the National Assembly from here for many years.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

File:Uzerche, Église Saint-Pierre-PM 18517.jpg, Uzerche File:Tulle 2207.jpg,

File:Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne Limousin France 2010 Kapel des Pénitents 4.jpg, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne File:Collonges-la-Rouge place.JPG, Collonges-la-Rouge File:Argentat, July 2009.jpg, Argentat

People

People who were born or have significantly lived in Corrèze include: * Étienne Baluze (1630–1718), scholar and personal librarian of Colbert * Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763–1815),

marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

, marshal of the Empire and godfather of author Alexandre Dumas * Jean Cazeneuve (1915–2005), philosopher and sociologist, president of the ORTF and of TF1 * Jacques Chirac (1932–2019), deputy to the Assemblée Nationale for Corrèze (1967–1995), President of the departement's General Council (1970–1979),

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

(1974–1976 and 1986–1988), Mayor of Paris (1977–1995) and 22nd President of the French Republic (1995–2007) * Bernadette Chirac (1933– ), member of the departement's General Council and aide to the mayor of Sarran * Pope Clement VI (1291–1352), 198th

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, born Pierre Roger in Rosiers-d'Égletons * In 1879

Adolphe Clément-Bayard Gustave Adolphe Clément, known from 1909 Clément-Bayard (; 22 September 1855 – 10 March 1928), was a French entrepreneur. Despite being orphaned, he became a blacksmith and a ''Compagnons du Tour de France, Compagnon du Tour de France.'' He ...

built an iron smelter in Tulle to supply his Parisian cycle manufacturing business, but he did not have sufficient finance to make it viable. * Marcel Conche (1922– ), philosopher * Bernard de Ventadour (1135–1195), a famous troubadour born at the castle of Ventadour * Jacques Delors (1925– ), economist and politician, 8th President of the European Commission (1985–1994), father of socialist leader Martine Aubry * Thomas Domingo (1985– ), French international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player * Guillaume Dubois (1656–1723), cardinal and statesman,

during the Régence * Léon Eyrolles (1861–1945), entrepreneur and politician * David Feuerwerker (1912–1980), Rabbi and resistance member * Antoinette Feuerwerker (1912–2003), lawyer and resistance member * Eugène Freyssinet (1879–1962), structural and civil engineer, major pioneer of prestressed concrete * Pope Gregory XI (1329–1378), 201st pope and last French pope, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort in Rosiers-d'Egletons * Cédric Heymans (1978– ), French international

player *

(1954– ), deputy for Corrèze (1988–1993 and 1997–2012), mayor of

(2001–2008), President of the department's General Council (2008–2012), leader of the Socialist Party (1997–2008), 24th President of the French Republic (2012–2017) * The

House of La Tour d'Auvergne A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, viscounts of Turenne * The House of Noailles, dukes of Noailles and Ayen, which provided three marshals of France, one admiral of France and one archbishop of Paris * Pope Innocent VI (1295–1362), 199th pope, born Etienne Aubert in Beyssac * Laurent Koscielny (1985– ), footballer who plays for Arsenal in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

* Pierre-André Latreille (1762–1833),

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and entomologist * André Malraux (1901–1976), writer, adventurer and statesman, member of the French Resistance in Corrèze during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* Max Mamers (1943), born in Objat, racing driver, two-time champion of France of rallycross, organizer of the

Andros Andros (, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and ...

Trophy and the Paris-Corrèze * Jean-Antoine Marbot (1754–1800),

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the French Army and politician, deputy of Correze in the Legislative Assembly, deputy of Corrèze in the Council of the Ancients, twice elected President of the Council of the Ancients * Antoine Adolphe Marcelin Marbot (1781–1844),

of the French Army * Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin Marbot (1782–1854),

of the French Army, author of the famous ''Memoirs of General Marbot'' * Edmond Michelet (1899–1970), politician and statesman, who did the first act of resistance of World War II in France by distributing tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes on 17 June 1940, one day before Charles de Gaulle's Appeal of 18 June * Richard Millet (1953— ), novelist and essayist, born in Viam. * Marie-Anne Montchamp (1957– ), politician, former Secretary of State for Solidarities and Social Cohesion (2010–2012) * Pierre Neuville (1922– ), author of "Les combats de ma vie" SDE (2013). * Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan (1914–1963), the last empress consort of the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

* Robert Nivelle (1856–1924),

, commander-in-chief of the French armies on the Western Front in 1917 * Valérie Pécresse (1967– ), politician, former Minister of Higher Education and Research (2007–2011), former Minister of the Budget and Government's Spokeswoman (2011–2012) * Edmond Perrier (1844–1921), anatomist and zoologist * Henri Queuille (1884–1970), mayor of Neuvic (1912–1965), deputy for Corrèze (1914–1935 and 1946–1958),

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Corrèze (1935–1941) who refused to vote full powers to Pétain in 1940, three times

during the Fourth Republic * Eric Rohmer (1920–2010), film director * Patrick Sébastien (1953– ), born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, man of television, singer * René Teulade (1931–2014), member of the Senate * Denis Tillinac (1947– ), author and journalist * Pierre Tornade (1930–2012), actor, born in Bort-les-Orgues * Jean-Baptiste Treilhard (1742–1810), political figure of the French Revolution, member of Committee of Public Safety, president of the Convention that judged and sentenced to death

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, member of the Directory and one of the redactors of the Napoleonic codes; he is buried in the Panthéon * Marius Vazeilles (1881–1973), politician and archeologist * Varg Vikernes (1973– ), Norwegian musician and writer * Cédric Villani (1973– ), mathematician, Fields Medalist in 2010 * Pierre Villepreux (1943– ), rugby player * Rose Warfman (1916–2016 ), resistance member * Dimitri Yachvili (1980– ), French international

player

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website

lacorreze.com
a lot of photos {{DEFAULTSORT:Correze 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Massif Central Nouvelle-Aquitaine region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia States and territories established in 1790