Villeneuve-sur-Lot

French commune
nomcommune=Villeneuve-sur-Lot
in Villeneuve-sur-Lot
région=Aquitaine
département=Lot-et-Garonne
("sous-préfecture")
arrondissement=Villeneuve-sur-Lot
canton=Chief town of 3 cantons
insee=47323
cp=47300
maire=Jérôme Cahuzac
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=Communauté des
Communes du Villeneuvois
longitude=0.705
latitude=44.4080555556
alt moy=55 m
alt mini=42 m
alt maxi=209 m
hectares=8,132
km²=81.32
sans=22,782
date-sans=1999
dens=280
date-dens=1999

Villeneuve-sur-Lot (in the Gascon dialect of Occitan language: "Vilanuèva d'Olt") is a commune of the Lot-et-Garonne "département", in southwestern France.

The commune was formerly named "Villeneuve-d'Agen".

Geography

Villeneuve-sur-Lot is located 22 m. N. by E. of Agen. The town is divided into two unequal portions by the Lot River, which here runs between high banks. coord|44|24|20|N|00|42|15|E|type:city(20,000,000)_region:FR

History

Villeneuve was founded in 1254 by Alphonse, 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.

ights

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 XIII 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 machicolations 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.

Economy

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica "Eleventh Edition" (1911):

:Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an important agricultural centre and has a very large trade in plums ("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.

Miscellaneous

People

Villeneuve-sur-Lot was the birthplace of:
*Benoît Broutchoux - anarchist
* Georges Leygues (1857-1933), politician of the Third Republic
* Nicolas Cazalé, actor
* Home to English West End Star Gregory London

Twin towns

* Ávila, Spain
* Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire
* Neustadt, Germany
* San Donà di Piave, Veneto, Italy
* Troon, Scotland

ee also

* US Villeneuve, a rugby league club from Villeneuve-sur-Lot
* [http://www.rcv15.fr Rugby Club Villeneuvois]

External links

* [http://www.ville-villeneuve-sur-lot.fr/ Official website]

References

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