Gironde
| Gironde | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | |||
 Prefecture building of the Gironde department, in Bordeaux | |||
| |||
 Location of Gironde in France | |||
| Coordinates: 44°50′N 0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°WCoordinates: 44°50′N 0°40′W / 44.833°N 0.667°W | |||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | ||
| Prefecture | Bordeaux | ||
| Subprefectures |
Arcachon Blaye Langon Lesparre-Médoc Libourne | ||
| Government | |||
| • President of the General Council | Jean-Luc Gleyze | ||
| Area1 | |||
| • Total | 10,000 km2 (4,000 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • Total | 1,505,517 | ||
| • Rank | 7th | ||
| • Density | 150/km2 (390/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||
| Department number | 33 | ||
| Arrondissements | 6 | ||
| Cantons | 33 | ||
| Communes | 538 | ||
| ^1 French Land Register data, which excludes estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |||
Gironde (French pronunciation: [ʒiʁɔ̃d]; in Occitan Gironda) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwest France. It is named for the Gironde estuary, a major waterway. The Bordeaux wine region is in the Gironde.
History
Gironde is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.
From 1793 to 1795, the department's name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès to avoid the association with the revolutionary party, the Girondists.
Geography
Gironde is part of the current region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is surrounded by the departments of Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne and Charente-Maritime and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. With an area of 10,000 km², Gironde is the largest department in metropolitan France. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846 km² of French Guiana.
Gironde is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many surfers to Lacanau each year. It is also the birthplace of Jacques-Yves Cousteau who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.
The Great Dune of Pyla in Arcachon Bay near Bordeaux is the tallest sand dune in Europe.[1]
Politics
The President of the General Council is Jean-Luc Gleyze of the Socialist Party.
| Party | seats | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Socialist Party | 45 |
| The Republicans | 12 | |
| • | French Communist Party | 3 |
| Miscellaneous Right | 1 | |
| MoDem | 1 | |
| Hunting, Fishing, Nature, Tradition | 1 | |
Tourism
Château de la Brède, birthplace of Montesquieu
The Gironde estuary seen from the citadel of Blaye
See also
References
- ↑ C.G. (14 August 2009). Les Adresses de Mathilde Seigner et Fabien Onteniente. Le Figaro Magazine. (in French)
External links
- (in French) General Council website
- (in French) Prefecture website
- (in English) Gironde at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
- (in French) Tourism Office website
