Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Encyclopedia
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is a town and commune
in the Lot-et-Garonne
department in south-western France
. The commune was formerly named Villeneuve-d'Agen.
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is located 22 km northeast of Agen
. The town is divided into two unequal portions by the Lot River
, which here runs between high banks.
, count of Poitiers
, brother of Louis IX
, on the site of the town of Gajac, which had been deserted during the Albigensian Crusade
.
Pop. (1906) town, 6978; commune, 13,540.
in place of two older arches, has a span of 118 ft. and a height of 59 ft. On the left bank portions of the 13th century ramparts, altered and surmounted by machicolation
s in the 1sth century, remain, and high square towers rise above the gates to the north-east and southwest, known respectively as the Porte de Paris and Porte de Pujols.
On the right bank boulevards have for the most part taken the place of the ramparts. Arcades of the 13th century surround the Place La Fayette, and old houses of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries are to be seen in various parts of the town. The church of St Etienne is in late Gothic style
. On the left bank of the Lot, 2 m. S.S.W. of Villeneuve, are the 13th-century walls of Pujols
.
The buildings of the ancient abbey of Eysses, about a mile to the N.E., which are mainly of the 17th century, serve as a departmental prison and penitentiary settlement. The principal hospital, the hospice St Cyr, is a handsome building standing in beautiful gardens.
, Spain
Bouaké
, Côte d'Ivoire
Neustadt bei Coburg
, Germany
San Donà di Piave
, Veneto
, Italy
Troon
, Scotland
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot and Garonne rivers.-History:Lot-et-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
department in south-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The commune was formerly named Villeneuve-d'Agen.
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is located 22 km northeast of Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...
. The town is divided into two unequal portions by the Lot River
Lot River
The Lot, , originally the Olt , is a river in France, right tributary of the Garonne. It rises in the Cévennes, flowing west through Quercy, where it flows into the Garonne near Aiguillon, a total distance of...
, which here runs between high banks.
History
Villeneuve was founded in 1254 by AlphonseAlphonse of Toulouse
Alfonso or Alphonse was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse from 1247.-Life:...
, count of Poitiers
Count of Poitiers
Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers are:*Guerin **Hatton **Renaud...
, brother of Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
, on the site of the town of Gajac, which had been deserted during the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
.
Pop. (1906) town, 6978; commune, 13,540.
Sights
The chief quarter of the town stands on the right bank of the Lot River and is united to the quarter on the left bank by a bridge of the 13th century, the principal arch of which, constructed in the reign of Louis XIIILouis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
in place of two older arches, has a span of 118 ft. and a height of 59 ft. On the left bank portions of the 13th century ramparts, altered and surmounted by machicolation
Machicolation
A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The design was developed in the Middle Ages when the Norman crusaders returned. A machicolated battlement...
s in the 1sth century, remain, and high square towers rise above the gates to the north-east and southwest, known respectively as the Porte de Paris and Porte de Pujols.
On the right bank boulevards have for the most part taken the place of the ramparts. Arcades of the 13th century surround the Place La Fayette, and old houses of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries are to be seen in various parts of the town. The church of St Etienne is in late Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. On the left bank of the Lot, 2 m. S.S.W. of Villeneuve, are the 13th-century walls of Pujols
Pujols, Lot-et-Garonne
Pujols is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France.-See also:*Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department...
.
The buildings of the ancient abbey of Eysses, about a mile to the N.E., which are mainly of the 17th century, serve as a departmental prison and penitentiary settlement. The principal hospital, the hospice St Cyr, is a handsome building standing in beautiful gardens.
Economy
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1911):- Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an important agricultural centre and has a very large trade in plumPlumA plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s (prunes d'ente) and in the produce of the market gardens which surround it, as well as in cattle, horses and wine. The preparation of preserved plums and the tinning of peas and beans occupy many hands; there are also manufactures of boots and shoes and tin boxes. The important mill of Gajac stands on the bank of the Lot a little above the town.
People
Villeneuve-sur-Lot was the birthplace of:- Benoît BroutchouxBenoît BroutchouxBenedict Broutchoux was a French anarchist opposed to the reformist Emile Basly during a strike in the north of France, in 1902.- Biography :...
- anarchist - Georges LeyguesGeorges LeyguesGeorges Leygues was a French politician of the Third Republic. During his time as Minister of Marine he worked with the navy's chief of staff Henri Salaun in unsuccessful attempts to gain naval re-armament priority for government funding over army rearmament such as the Maginot Line.He was born...
(1857–1933), politician of the Third RepublicFrench Third RepublicThe French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France... - Nicolas CazaléNicolas CazaléNicolas Cazalé is a French model and actor who is most noted for his role in the 2004 French film, Le Grand Voyage for which he won a Jury Award for Best Actor at the 2005 Newport International Film Festival...
, actor - Caroline von PaulusCaroline von PaulusCaroline von Paulus is a French actress, fashion model and singer, better known by her stage name - Bambou. She was married to the French singer Serge Gainsbourg from 1981 until his death in 1991. Their son Lucien 'Lulu' Gainsbourg was born in 1986...
, more popularly known as Bambou
Twin towns
Ávila, Castile and LeónCastile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Bouaké
Bouaké
Bouaké is the second largest city in Côte d'Ivoire, with a population of 775,300 . It is the main urban settlement of the Bouaké Department with a population exceeding 1.2 million, in the Vallée du Bandama Region...
, Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
Neustadt bei Coburg
Neustadt bei Coburg
Neustadt bei Coburg is a town in the district of Coburg in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km northeast of Coburg, as its name indicates.-Local sudivisions:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
San Donà di Piave
San Donà di Piave
San Donà di Piave or, simply, San Donà, is the largest town in Eastern Veneto and comune of province of Venice, Veneto, in the North East region of Italy.- Geography :...
, Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Troon
Troon
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
See also
- US VilleneuveUS VilleneuveVilleneuve Leopards, translated from Léopards d'Aquitaine and sometimes known as Union Sportive Villeneuve, are a French rugby league club from the town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot in the département of Lot-et-Garonne. They play in the Elite One Championship.-History:Sport Athlétique Villeneuvois.13 ...
, a rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club from Villeneuve-sur-Lot - Rugby Club Villeneuvois