Agen

Agen
Prefecture and commune
Cathedral of Saint-Caprais

Flag
Coat of arms
Agen
Location within Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
Agen
Coordinates: 44°12′18″N 0°37′16″E / 44.2049°N 0.6212°E / 44.2049; 0.6212Coordinates: 44°12′18″N 0°37′16″E / 44.2049°N 0.6212°E / 44.2049; 0.6212
Country France
Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Lot-et-Garonne
Arrondissement Agen
Canton Agen-1, 2, 3 and 4
Intercommunality CA Agen
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Jean Dionis du Séjour[1]
Area1 11.49 km2 (4.44 sq mi)
Population (2014)2 34,126
 • Density 3,000/km2 (7,700/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code 47001 /47000
Elevation 37–162 m (121–531 ft)
(avg. 48 m or 157 ft)
Website www.agen.fr

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

The commune of Agen (French: [aʒɛ̃], Occitan: [aˈdʒen]) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne 135 kilometres (84 miles) southeast of Bordeaux.

Geography

The city of Agen lies in the southern department Lot-et-Garonne in the Aquitaine region. The city centre lies on the east bank of the Garonne river close to the Canal de Garonne, approximately halfway between Bordeaux (132 km, 82 mi) and Toulouse (107 km, 66 mi).

Climate

Agen features an oceanic climate (Cfb), in the Köppen climate classification. Winters are mild and feature cool to cold temperatures while summers are mild and warm. Rainfall is spread equally throughout the year； however, most sunshine hours are from March–September.

Climate data for Agen, France (altitude 59 m, 1981–2010 averages, extremes 1941–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.1
(68.2)		 22.3
(72.1)		 26.3
(79.3)		 30.2
(86.4)		 34.0
(93.2)		 38.8
(101.8)		 40.6
(105.1)		 41.0
(105.8)		 36.7
(98.1)		 32.0
(89.6)		 25.4
(77.7)		 21.6
(70.9)		 41.0
(105.8)
Average high °C (°F) 9.2
(48.6)		 11.3
(52.3)		 15.0
(59)		 17.5
(63.5)		 21.5
(70.7)		 25.0
(77)		 27.6
(81.7)		 27.6
(81.7)		 24.5
(76.1)		 19.6
(67.3)		 13.2
(55.8)		 9.5
(49.1)		 18.5
(65.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)		 6.8
(44.2)		 9.7
(49.5)		 12.0
(53.6)		 15.9
(60.6)		 19.3
(66.7)		 21.5
(70.7)		 21.5
(70.7)		 18.4
(65.1)		 14.7
(58.5)		 9.3
(48.7)		 6.1
(43)		 13.4
(56.1)
Average low °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)		 2.4
(36.3)		 4.4
(39.9)		 6.6
(43.9)		 10.3
(50.5)		 13.6
(56.5)		 15.4
(59.7)		 15.3
(59.5)		 12.3
(54.1)		 9.7
(49.5)		 5.4
(41.7)		 2.8
(37)		 8.4
(47.1)
Record low °C (°F) −17.4
(0.7)		 −21.9
(−7.4)		 −10.5
(13.1)		 −3.9
(25)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 2.5
(36.5)		 5.9
(42.6)		 4.7
(40.5)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −5.0
(23)		 −8.8
(16.2)		 −12.1
(10.2)		 −21.9
(−7.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55.1
(2.169)		 52.1
(2.051)		 49.8
(1.961)		 67.6
(2.661)		 76.1
(2.996)		 58.4
(2.299)		 51.3
(2.02)		 55.0
(2.165)		 59.3
(2.335)		 64.3
(2.531)		 63.4
(2.496)		 59.8
(2.354)		 712.2
(28.039)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.9 8.3 9.0 10.8 10.6 8.1 6.3 7.1 7.9 9.5 10.0 9.8 107.1
Average snowy days 1.3 1.2 0.5 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.1 4.8
Average relative humidity (%) 89 85 79 77 77 75 73 76 79 86 90 91 81.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 77.5 110.1 172.6 182.3 213.6 232.1 255.4 242.3 204.9 138.2 84.0 69.4 1,982.4
Source #1: Météo France[2][3][4]
Source #2: Infoclimat.fr (humidity and snowy days, 1961–1990)[5]

Toponymy

From Occitan Agen (1197), itself from Latin Aginnum (3rd century Itinéraire d'Antonin), from a Celtic root agin- meaning "rock or height".[6]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
18009,876—    
180610,850+9.9%
182111,659+7.5%
183112,631+8.3%
183613,399+6.1%
184114,987+11.9%
184615,517+3.5%
185116,027+3.3%
185617,667+10.2%
186117,263−2.3%
186618,222+5.6%
187218,887+3.6%
187619,503+3.3%
188120,485+5.0%
188622,055+7.7%
189123,234+5.3%
189622,730−2.2%
190122,482−1.1%
190623,141+2.9%
191123,294+0.7%
192123,391+0.4%
192623,530+0.6%
193124,939+6.0%
193627,152+8.9%
194633,397+23.0%
195432,593−2.4%
196232,800+0.6%
196834,949+6.6%
197534,039−2.6%
198231,593−7.2%
199030,553−3.3%
199930,199−1.2%
200633,728+11.7%
200933,920+0.6%

Economy

The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average. Major employers include the pharmaceutical factory UPSA.

Sights

The old centre of town contains a number of medieval buildings.

The twelfth century Agen Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Caprasius, is one of the few large churches in France with a double nave, a regional trait also found in the Church of the Jacobins in nearby Toulouse.

The Saint Hilaire church, dedicated to the theme of the Holy Trinity which the Saint in question did a lot to defend, is notable for its unusual statues in front of the Church – Moses on the right, and St Peter on the left.

The Fine Arts museum, Musée des Beaux Arts contains artefacts, furniture and sculptures from prehistoric times onwards. The art gallery contains several hundred works, including several by Goya, and others by Bonnard and Seurat. The collection also contains a large number of works by artists who lived locally. The museum is made up of twenty or so rooms.[7]

The Canal des Deux Mers, which joins the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, crosses the river Garonne at Agen via the town's famous canal bridge.

Entertainment

The municipal theatre "Théâtre Ducourneau" presents theatre, and occasionally classical concerts. The smaller "Théâtre du jour" has a resident theatre company presenting a variety of recent or older plays (Shakespeare, Beckett, as well as lesser known playwrights).

There are two cinemas, one a commercial multiscreened affair, the other an arts cinema run by a voluntary organization. The latter organizes film festivals every year.

Sport

Rugby is extremely popular in the town, and the local team, SU Agen, is enthusiastically supported. The town also serves as the base for the Team Lot-et-Garonne cycling team.

Transport

The Gare d'Agen connects Agen with Toulouse and Bordeaux as well as Périgueux. It is around an hour from Toulouse and around an hour from Bordeaux. The TGV train to Paris take three hours and thirteen minutes with a stop in Bordeaux.

Agen is connected, by the A62 autoroute, to both Toulouse and Bordeaux.

The Agen Airport is serviced by Airlinair service to Paris Orly 6 days a week. It is also used for business and leisure flying.

Agen stands on the voie verte cycle path between the Mediterranean and close to Bordeaux.

Diocese

Agen is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese that comprises the Département of Lot and Garonne. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bordeaux.

Twin cities

Agen is twinned with:[8]

Personalities

As place of birth
As residence
  • Nostradamus lived in Agen from 1531 until at least 1534. He was married to a local woman with whom he had two children.

Miscellaneous

Agen is the "capital of the prune", a local produce sold as a sweet (stuffed with prune purée) or as an after-dinner delight (prunes soaked in Armagnac – a type of brandy). Every last weekend of August, the Prune festival organizes rock concerts, circuses and prune tasting.

Jewish presence

The first Jews settled in the town in the twelfth century AD. They were expelled from the town in 1306. A number of Jews returned to the town in 1315, and a "Rue des Juifs" is documented ever since this period. In 1968, about 600 Jews lived in the town, though most of them emigrated to the town from North Africa.[12] A Jewish synagogue still exists in the town.[13]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Les élus" (in French). Mairie d'Agen. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Données climatiques de la station de Agen" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Climat Aquitaine" (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Agen (47)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Normes et records 1961-1990: Agen - La Garenne (47) - altitude 59m" (in French). Infoclimat. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bénédicte Boyrie-Fénié, avec la collaboration d’André Bianchi, Pèire Boissière, Patrice Gentié et Maurice Romieu, Dictionnaire toponymique des communes du Lot-et-Garonne, Pau, Éditions Cairn, décembre 2012, 320 p. ( ISBN 978-2-35068-231-0), p. 41.
  7. ↑ "Agen – Tourist Office – The History of Agen – Origins". www.ot-agen.org. Archived from the original on 5 May 2003. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "National Commission for Decentralised cooperation". Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) (in French). Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  9. ↑ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District" (PDF). © 2009 Twins2010.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  10. ↑ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  11. ↑ "Sister Cities". Toledo Turismo. Patronato Municipal de Turismo. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  12. ↑ "Gale Virtual Reference Library". Gale, A Cengage Company.
  13. ↑ "Synagogues In Agen, France:". Kosher Delight.
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