La Réole (; ) is a commune in the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

department in

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 ...

in southwestern

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 ...

Geography

La Réole is located on the right bank of the Garonne, southeast of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

by rail. La Réole station has rail connections to Agen, Langon and Bordeaux.

History

There is evidence of a Roman villa, ''La Pontesa'', with an adjoining cemetery which has been dated to be from the 3rd or 4th century. There were other Roman villas nearby. At this time in the region, there were Roman buildings every kilometre and a half or so. Evidence of later dwellings on the ''La Pontesa'' site show that it was inhabited between the 7th and 8th centuries. Nineteen sarcophaguses and funeral articles have been found on this site. La Réole grew up round a monastery founded in the 7th or 8th century, which was reformed in the 11th century and took the name of ''Regula'', whence that of the town. During the Middle Ages, La Réole was a royal town, administered by six ''jurats'' (pre-revolution municipal officers), who were elected by the town's ''bourgeois''. The law was upheld in the name of the King. During the

War of Saint-Sardos The War of Saint-Sardos was a short war fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in 1324 during which the French invaded the English Duchy of Aquitaine. The war was a clear defeat for the English and led indirectly to the ...

in 1324, the most stubborn resistance against the repossession of

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 ...

was put up by the

Earl of Kent The peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In fiction, the Earl of Kent is also known as a prominent supporting character in William Shakespeare's tragedy K ...

in La Réole. For a significant period of time, La Réole was the second most important town of Guyenne, after Bordeaux. Twice during the 17th century in 1678 and 1690, Bordeaux's parliament was exiled to La Réole.

Population

Sights

The church of St Peter, dating from the end of the 12th century as well as the impressive buildings of the 18th century

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery are still both in use. The monastery currently houses a museum, library and the offices of the current town hall. There is also an old town hall building that dates from the 12th and 14th centuries. The town fortifications were dismantled in 1629 by order of Richelieu, but remains dating from the 12th and 14th centuries are to be seen, as well as a part of the Château de Quat'Sos, which was begun by Louis VIII of France and completed by

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

. The south-western tower, called "la Thomasse", still looks over the Garonne river. Other sites of historical significance in the town include the House of Wine and Art (15th century), the hospital chapel (18th century), Briet's Hotel (17th century) as well as a town centre with cobble streets and houses that date back to the 15th century. Of more recent note is the suspension bridge that links the town centre to the southern bank of the

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

river. The architect responsible for its design was

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

, at the time a still little known public servant. The population in 1906 was 3,469. By the year 2000, inhabitants numbered around 4,200.

Economy

Historically, according to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1911): :The town is the centre of. the district in which the well-known breed of Bazadais cattle is reared. It is an agricultural market and carries on trade in the wine of the region together with liqueur distillery and the manufacture of casks, rope, brooms, etc. As the 20th century progressed, La Réole played the role of a regional economic centre, second to Bordeaux. More recently, the administrative responsibility has moved to nearby Langon. La Réole now is an important town centre in the Entre deux mers wine region of the Bordeaux classifications and has concentrated on tourism to stimulate the town economy.

Twin towns

La Réole is twinned with: * Oliveira do Douro, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, since 1992 *

Sacile Sacile (; , Liventino: ; Western Friulian: ) is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is known as the "Garden of the " after the many palaces that were cons ...

, Italy, since 2000

Sport

La Réole has an International Motorcycle circuit Grasstrack circuit. It has hosted many

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

meeting as well as the World 1000cc Sidecar Final in 2010.