Libourne

History

Like other sites at the confluence of important rivers, that of Libourne was appropriated at an early period. Under the Romans a colonia stood rather more than a mile to the south of the present Libourne; it was destroyed during the troubles of the 5th century. Resuscitated by Charlemagne, it was rebuilt in 1269, as Leybornia, and was founded as a bastide by Roger de Leybourne (of Leybourne, Kent), an English seneschal of Gascony, under the authority of King Edward I of England. It suffered considerably in the struggles of the French and English for the possession of Gironde in the Hundred Years' War, and joined France in the 15th century.

In 1787 the parlement of Bordeaux was exiled to Libourne amid political crises.

In December 1854 John Stuart Mill passed through Libourne, remarking "I stopped at Libourne as I intended & had a walk about it this morning quite the best thing there is the bridge of the Dordogne, the view from which is really fine".The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill Vol XIV, Page 251.

Sights

The Gothic church, restored in the 19th century, has a stone spire 232 ft high. On the quay there is a machicolated clock-tower which is a survival of the defensive walls of the 14th century. The town-house, containing a small museum and a library, is a quaint relic of the 16th century. It is located by the main square, the Place Abel Surchamp, which hosts every weekend one of the largest fresh food market in the region. There is a statue of Élie, duc Decazes, who was born in the region.

Geography

Libourne is located at the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne rivers. Libourne station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Bergerac, Angoulême, Périgueux, Limoges, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Sarlat-la-Canéda.

|Jan record high C = 18.6 |Feb record high C = 24.7 |Mar record high C = 26.3 |Apr record high C = 30.8 |May record high C = 35.5 |Jun record high C = 39.7 |Jul record high C = 40.9 |Aug record high C = 41.3 |Sep record high C = 37.9 |Oct record high C = 33.0 |Nov record high C = 25.2 |Dec record high C = 19.7 |Jan record low C = -8.3 |Feb record low C = -12.0 |Mar record low C = -9.0 |Apr record low C = -1.8 |May record low C = 2.2 |Jun record low C = 5.6 |Jul record low C = 7.1 |Aug record low C = 6.2 |Sep record low C = 2.9 |Oct record low C = -5.6 |Nov record low C = -8.0 |Dec record low C = -9.7 |access-date=22 November 2024}}}}

Population

| graph-pos = bottom |1793 |9100 |1800 |8076 |1806 |8293 |1821 |8787 |1831 |9838 |1836 |9714 |1841 |9814 |1846 |11813 |1851 |12650 |1856 |13290 |1861 |13565 |1866 |14639 |1872 |14960 |1876 |15231 |1881 |15981 |1886 |16736 |1891 |17867 |1896 |18016 |1901 |19175 |1906 |19323 |1911 |20085 |1921 |18083 |1926 |18453 |1931 |19103 |1936 |19491 |1946 |20166 |1954 |19474 |1962 |19834 |1968 |22123 |1975 |21651 |1982 |22119 |1990 |21012 |1999 |21761 |2007 |23471 |2012 |23736 |2017 |24845

Gallery

Libourne.mairie.jpg|Town hall

Condat Nef 2 IMG 3044-1.jpg|Nave of the Chapelle de Condat

Libourne 33 Porte du Port 2013.jpg|Gate of the Port

Libourne 33 Temple protestant 2013.jpg|Protestant temple

Notable people

• Eugène Atget (1857–1927), French photographer, "Creator and Purveyor of a Collection of Photographic Views of Old France"
• Georges Charles Marius Engerrand (1877–1961), geologist and archaeologist
• Florian Latorre (born 1997), racing driver
• Louis Le Provost de Launay (1850–1912), French deputy and senator
• Jean-Marie Londeix (1932–2025), French saxophonist
• Jean Marcadé (1920–2012), French Hellenist and historian
• Jean-Marie Poumeyrol (born 1946), artist

References

References

1. (2 December 2020). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires".
2. {{EB1911
3. Doyle, William. (2018). "[[The Oxford History of the French Revolution]]". Oxford University Press.
4. {{Cassini-Ehess. 19449. Libourne
5. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-33243#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE