Bordeaux

city and commune in Gironde, New Aquitaine, France

Bordeaux is a city in the Gironde department of France. It is on the Garonne River near the Atlantic Ocean. About 1,150,000 people live in the area around the city. Bordeaux has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb in the Koeppen climate classification). It is famous for wines made in the region near the city. Bordeaux is also famous for its art.

Bordeaux
Clockwise from top: Place de la Bourse by the Garonne, Allées du Tourny and Maison de Vin, Pierre Bridge on the Garonne, Meriadeck Commercial Centre, front of Palais Rohan Hotel, and Saint-André Cathedral with the Bordeaux tramway
Clockwise from top: Place de la Bourse by the Garonne, Allées du Tourny and Maison de Vin, Pierre Bridge on the Garonne, Meriadeck Commercial Centre, front of Palais Rohan Hotel, and Saint-André Cathedral with the Bordeaux tramway
Coat of arms of Bordeaux
Motto(s): 
Lilia sola regunt lunam undas castra leonem.
"The fleur-de-lis alone rules over the moon, the waves, the castle, and the lion" (in French: « Les lys règnent seuls sur la lune, les ondes, la forteresse et le lion. ») [1]
Location of Bordeaux
Map
Bordeaux is located in France
Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Coordinates: 44°50′N 0°35′W / 44.84°N 0.58°W / 44.84; -0.58
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentGironde
ArrondissementBordeaux
Canton5 cantons
IntercommunalityBordeaux Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2019–2020) Nicolas Florian (LR)
Area
1
49.36 km2 (19.06 sq mi)
 • Urban
 (2010)
1,172.79 km2 (452.82 sq mi)
 • Metro
 (2010)
5,613.41 km2 (2,167.35 sq mi)
Population
 (2016[2])
252,040
 • Rank9th in France
 • Density5,100/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
 (January 2011)
760,933 [3]
 • Metro
 (2013)
1,195,335[4]
DemonymBordelais
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
Websitewww.bordeaux.fr
Official nameBordeaux, Port of the Moon
CriteriaCultural: ii, iv
Reference1256
Inscription2007 (31st Session)
Area1,731 ha
Buffer zone11,974 ha
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bordeaux is classified as a "City of Art and History". The city is home to 362 monuments historiques. Some buildings date back to Roman times. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[5]

History change

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon
UNESCO World Heritage Site
CriteriaCultural: ii, iv
Reference1256
Inscription2007 (31st Session)

In about 300 BC Bordeaux was the settlement of a Celtic tribe. They named the town Burdigala. The Romans began rule of the city around 60 BC. Later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine. In the 400s the city was looted by the Vandals, Visigoths, and Franks.

After the Battle of Poitiers, Duke Eudes was able to hold only a small part of Aquitaine where Bordeaux was located. It became one of the last cities to fall under King Pepin the Short.

Bordeaux once again became an important city after the marriage of Duchess Eléonore of Aquitaine with Count Henri Plantagenet. He became King Henry II of England only months after their marriage.

In 1653 Bordeaux was added to the Kingdom of France, when the army of Louis XIV entered the city.

In 1870 the French government moved to Bordeaux for a time. This was at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian war against Prussia. The temporary move happened again during World War I and again very briefly during the World War II.

Education change

Sister cities change

Bordeaux is twinned with:

Partnerships change

References change

  1. [1][permanent dead link]
  2. "Bordeaux en chiffres".
  3. Séries historiques des résultats du recensement – Unité urbaine 2010 de Bordeaux (33701), INSEE.Retrieved 2 August 2014
  4. "Séries historiques des résultats du recensement – Aire urbaine 2010 de Bordeaux (006)". INSEE. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  5. "Bordeaux, Port of the Moon". UNESCO. Retrieved 7 May 2017.

Other websites change

  Media related to Bordeaux at Wikimedia Commons
  Bordeaux travel guide from Wikivoyage