Limoges (Limòtges in Occitan) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture of the Haute-Vienne département, and the administrative capital of the Limousin région. Population city : 137,502 (limougeauds), urban area: 247,944.
Limoges is known worldwide for its medieval enamels ('Limoges enamels ') on copper, for its 19th century porcelain ('Limoges porcelain ') and for its oak barrels (Limousin oak ), which are used for Cognac production.
History
Limoges was founded as Augustoritum by Caesar Augustus around 10 BC and occupied an important crossroads. Numerous Roman monuments were built: a bridge made of stone over the initial ford, a forum on the shelf of the hillside, several thermae, a vast amphitheatre, meant to outshine those at Arles or Nîmes, a theatre on the banks of the Vienne River, underground aqueducts, an orthogonal lined street, and luxurious dwellings.
Starting in the 4th century, the city was progressively deserted by its own inhabitants and underwent an irreversible looting.
Saint Martial, the first bishop of Limoges , proselytized the area and was memorialized in the abbey, which became rich through its pilgrimage traffic. The abbey gained its independence from the bishop of Limoges in the 9th century, and became famous for its library, the second largest in France after Cluny and scriptorium, and as one of the birthplaces of polyphonic music.
The dual structure of medieval Limoges was often at cross purposes. The city, headed by the Bishop, centered round the cathedral and the Bishop's residence. The walled and moated chateau of the Viscounts of Limoges stood near the walled abbey.
The city of Limoges was famous in the Middle Ages for its enamels on copper, which were exported throughout Christendom.
The CGT trade union was founded in Limoges on September 23, 1895.
Limoges was a center of the maquis resistance to the Vichy puppet government of the Nazis.
Geography
Limoges is located on the banks of the Vienne River, 150 km from the Atlantic Ocean.
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Porcelain
In 1771 kaolinic clay, the fine white clay indispensable for making hard-paste porcelain , was discovered at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche , near Limoges. Under the impetus of the progressive economist Turgot, who had been appointed intendant of this impoverished and isolated region, a new ceramics industry was developed, and Limoges porcelain became famous during the 19th century.
Miscellaneous
A small university was founded at Limoges in 1968.
Births
Limoges was the bithplace of:
- Jean Daurat (or Dorat) (1508-1588), poet and scholar, member of the Pléiade
- Henri François d'Aguesseau (1668-1751), chancellor of France
- Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud (1753-1793), orator and revolutionary
- Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (1762-1833), [marshal of France]]
- Stephen Grellet (1773?1855), Quaker missionary
- Thomas Robert Bugeaud de la Piconnerie, Duke of Isly (1784-1849), marshal of France
- Jean-Baptiste Joseph Émile Montégut (1825-1895), critic
- Marie François Sadi Carnot (1837-1894), President of France
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), preeminent French painter
Twin towns
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