Brive-la-Gaillarde

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 a second wall was built. These fortifications no longer exist and have been replaced by boulevards. The Hôtel de Ville was commissioned as the Collège des Doctrinaires (College of Doctrinaires) and completed in 1671.

The commune was named "Brive" until 1919, when it was renamed "Brive-la-Gaillarde". The word "Gaillarde" (still used in current French) 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.

During World War II, 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 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 to Toulouse.

Climate

|Jan record high C = 19.5 |Feb record high C = 25.0 |Mar record high C = 27.1 |Apr record high C = 30.0 |May record high C = 32.9 |Jun record high C = 39.6 |Jul record high C = 42.1 |Aug record high C = 40.8 |Sep record high C = 37.5 |Oct record high C = 33.2 |Nov record high C = 25.6 |Dec record high C = 20.1 |Jan record low C = -11.8 |Feb record low C = -16.4 |Mar record low C = -12.6 |Apr record low C = -5.4 |May record low C = -1.7 |Jun record low C = 2.1 |Jul record low C = 5.2 |Aug record low C = 3.6 |Sep record low C = 0.6 |Oct record low C = -5.6 |Nov record low C = -10.2 |Dec record low C = -13.4 |access-date=14 December 2024}}}}

Administration

The most recent mayors of Brive-la-Gaillarde were:

• 1966–1995: Jean Charbonnel
• 1995–2008: Bernard Murat
• 2008–present: Philippe Nauche

Population

| graph-pos = bottom |1793 |5847 |1800 |5762 |1806 |7608 |1821 |6801 |1831 |8031 |1836 |8843 |1841 |8350 |1846 |8382 |1851 |8889 |1856 |9384 |1861 |9854 |1866 |10389 |1872 |10765 |1876 |11920 |1881 |14182 |1886 |15707 |1891 |16803 |1896 |18111 |1901 |19496 |1906 |20636 |1911 |21486 |1921 |21711 |1926 |24049 |1931 |26718 |1936 |29074 |1946 |33501 |1954 |36088 |1962 |40175 |1968 |46561 |1975 |51828 |1982 |51511 |1990 |49765 |1999 |49141 |2007 |50231 |2012 |47411 |2017 |46916

Transport

Brive-la-Gaillarde railway station offers connections to Limoges, Périgueux, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Paris and several regional destinations. The A20 motorway connects Brive with Limoges and Toulouse, the A89 with Bordeaux.

Brive–Souillac Airport 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 team, CA Brive. It also hosted the 2009 Junior World Rowing Championships.

Notable people

• Guillaume Marie Anne Brune (1763–1815), marshal of France
• Alceste De Ambris (born 15 September 1874 to Licciana Nardi, and died December 9, 1934, in Brive-la-Gaillard), an Italian politician and syndicalist
• 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 Dubois (1656–1723), cardinal and statesman
• David Feuerwerker (1912–1980) rabbi and professor of French Jewish history (Geneva, 2 October 1912 – Montreal, 20 June 1980).
• Antoinette Feuerwerker (1912–2003) Belgian lawyer and educator, wife of David Feuerwerker; Member of the Combat movement in Limousin alongside Edmond Michelet.
• Cédric Heymans (1978– ), international rugby union player
• Michel Labrousse (1912–1988), scholar of Roman history
• Pierre André Latreille (1762–1833), entomologist
• Robert Margerit (1910–1988), writer.
• Edmond Michelet (1899–1970), politician, leader of the Movement Combat Limousin; arrested by the Gestapo in Brive in February 1943; died in the village of Marcillac, the town of Brive.
• Louis Néel (1904–2000), physicist, Nobel Prize 1970, died in Brive
• Xavier Patier (1958– ), civil servant and writer
• Damian Penaud (1996– ), international rugby union player
• Patrick Sebastien (born 1953), imitator, actor, singer, television host.
• Marine Serre (1991– ), fashion designer
• Jean-Baptiste Treilhard (born 3 January 1742 in Brive-la-Gaillarde – died December 1810 in Paris) was a French jurist and politician at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century.
• Cédric Villani (1973– ), mathematician; Fields Medalist in 2010
• Dimitri Yachvili (1980– ), international rugby union player

Twin towns – sister cities

Brive-la-Gaillarde is twinned with:

• POR Guimarães, Portugal
• CAN Joliette, Canada
• GER Lauf an der Pegnitz, Germany
• UKR Melitopol, Ukraine
• MLI Sikasso, Mali

References

References

1. (2 December 2020). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires".
2. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=UU2020-00557 Comparateur de territoires], INSEE
3. {{Base Mérimée. PA00099690
4. {{Cassini-Ehess. 6008. Brive-la-Gaillarde
5. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-19031#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
6. "Villes jumelées". Brive-la-Gaillarde.