Périgueux

Périgueux Peireguers / Periguers  (Occitan)
Prefecture and commune
Top: Panorama view of Saint-Front Cathedral in Trélissac Hills, Middle left: Statue of Thomas-Robert Bugeaud in Bugeaud Square, Middle right: Barbadeau Castle (Le château de Barbadeau), Bottom left: Isle River and Saint Georges Bridge (Pont Saint Georges), Bottom right: The tower of Vésone (La tour de Vésone) Top: Panorama view of Saint-Front Cathedral in Trélissac Hills, Middle left: Statue of Thomas-Robert Bugeaud in Bugeaud Square, Middle right: Barbadeau Castle (Le château de Barbadeau), Bottom left: Isle River and Saint Georges Bridge (Pont Saint Georges), Bottom right: The tower of Vésone (La tour de Vésone)
Coat of arms of Périgueux Coat of arms
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Dordogne
Arrondissement	Périgueux
Canton	Périgueux-1 and 2
Intercommunality	Le Grand Périgueux
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Delphine Labails
Area1	9.82 km2 (3.79 sq mi)
• Urban	154.4 km2 (59.6 sq mi)
• Metro	1,061 km2 (410 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)2
• Urban (2018)	65,341
• Urban density	420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
• Metro (2018)	113,384
• Metro density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	24322 / 24000
Elevation	75–189 m (246–620 ft) (avg. 101 m or 331 ft)
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.

Périgueux (/ˌpɛrɪˈɡɜːr/, French: [peʁiɡø]; Occitan: Peireguers [pejɾeˈɣɥes; pejɾeˈɡœː] or Periguers [peɾiˈɣɥes; peɾiˈɡœː]) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.

Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese.

History

The name Périgueux comes from Petrocorii, a Latinization of Celtic words meaning "the four tribes" – the Gallic people that held the area before the Roman conquest. Périgueux was their capital city. In 200 BC, the Petrocorii came from the north and settled at Périgueux and established an encampment at La Boissière. After the Roman invasion, they left this post and established themselves on the plain of L'Isle, and the town of Vesunna was created. This Roman city was eventually embellished with amenities such as temples, baths, amphitheatres, and a forum. At the end of the third century AD, the Roman city was surrounded by ramparts, and the town took the name of Civitas Petrocoriorum.

In the 10th century, Le Puy-Saint-Front was constructed around an abbey next to the old Gallo-Roman city. It was organised into a municipality around 1182.

During the year 1940, many Jews from Alsace and Alsatians were evacuated to Périgueux.

Simone Mareuil (a lead actress from the surrealist film Un Chien Andalou) committed self-immolation on 24 October 1954 by dousing herself in gasoline and burning herself to death in a public square in Périgueux.

Geography

The Isle flows through Périgueux.

Population

In 2018, 30,060 people lived in the town, while its metropolitan area had a population of 113,384.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 9,898 —     1800 5,733 −7.50% 1806 6,306 +1.60% 1821 8,452 +1.97% 1831 8,956 +0.58% 1836 11,576 +5.27% 1841 12,187 +1.03% 1846 11,455 −1.23% 1851 13,547 +3.41% 1856 16,291 +3.76% 1861 19,140 +3.28% 1866 19,633 +0.51% 1872 19,956 +0.27% 1876 24,169 +4.91% 1881 25,969 +1.45% 1886 29,611 +2.66% 1891 31,439 +1.21% 1896 31,313 −0.08%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 31,976 +0.42% 1906 31,361 −0.39% 1911 33,548 +1.36% 1921 33,144 −0.12% 1926 33,389 +0.15% 1931 33,988 +0.36% 1936 37,615 +2.05% 1946 40,865 +0.83% 1954 40,785 −0.02% 1962 38,529 −0.71% 1968 37,450 −0.47% 1975 35,120 −0.91% 1982 32,916 −0.92% 1990 30,280 −1.04% 1999 30,193 −0.03% 2007 29,416 −0.33% 2012 29,906 +0.33% 2017 29,966 +0.04%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Sights

Sights include: the remains of a Roman amphitheatre (known locally as the arènes romaines) the centre of which has been turned into a green park with a water fountain; the remains of a temple of the Gallic goddess "Vesunna"; and a luxurious Roman villa, called the "Domus of Vesunna", built around a garden courtyard surrounded by a colonnaded peristyle now housed in the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum.

File:Périgueux théâtre Palace.JPG

Périgueux Theater Palace

File:Anc.cathédrale de Périgueux.JPG

Saint-Étienne Church

Cathedral

Main article: Périgueux Cathedral

Cathedral of St Front

File:Cathedrale saint front perigueux clochers.jpg

The bell tower of St Front's cathedral

File:2015 Périgueux - Cathédrale St-Front.jpg

St Front's cathedral, inside

The cathedral of St Front was built after 1120 and restored in the 19th century.

The history of the church of St Front of Périgueux has given rise to numerous discussions between archaeologists. Félix de Verneihl claims that St Front's was a copy of St Mark's Basilica in Venice; Quicherat, that it was copied from the church of the Holy Apostles of Constantinople. M. Brutails is of the opinion that even if the style of St Front's reveals an imitation of Oriental art, the construction differs altogether from Byzantine methods. The dates 984–1047, often given for the erection of St Front's, he considers too early; he thinks that the present church of St Front was built about 1120–1173, in imitation of a foreign monument by a native local school of architecture which erected the other domed buildings in the south-west of France.

The local architect, Paul Abadie (1812–1884), was responsible for radical changes to St Front's which are no longer appreciated by architects or local residents who prefer the purer Romanesque church of Saint-Étienne de la Cité, the former Cathedral of Périgueux.

The cathedral is part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.

Transport

Périgueux railway station offers connections to Limoges, Bordeaux, Brive-la-Gaillarde, and other regional destinations. The trains are operated by train company SNCF.

Climate

Périgueux has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) with warm to hot summers combined with cool to mild winters. Périgueux has a mild climate for its latitude and inland position due to the significant Gulf Stream influence on the Bay of Biscay to its west. The resulting maritime air warms winters up, while at the same time it is far enough inland to cause warm summers on average.

Climate data for Périgueux (1981–2010 normals; extremes 1973–2017)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	18.5 (65.3)	23.1 (73.6)	27.6 (81.7)	29.3 (84.7)	32.0 (89.6)	38.1 (100.6)	38.0 (100.4)	40.0 (104)	36.1 (97)	31.1 (88)	23.9 (75)	19.1 (66.4)	40.0 (104)
Average high °C (°F)	8.9 (48)	10.4 (50.7)	14.4 (57.9)	16.9 (62.4)	20.8 (69.4)	24.0 (75.2)	27.0 (80.6)	27.2 (81)	24.0 (75.2)	18.8 (65.8)	12.9 (55.2)	9.7 (49.5)	17.7 (63.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.1 (41.2)	5.9 (42.6)	8.9 (48)	11.2 (52.2)	15.0 (59)	18.1 (64.6)	20.6 (69.1)	20.5 (68.9)	17.4 (63.3)	13.6 (56.5)	8.7 (47.7)	5.6 (42.1)	12.4 (54.3)
Average low °C (°F)	1.1 (34)	1.4 (34.5)	3.4 (38.1)	5.5 (41.9)	9.2 (48.6)	12.2 (54)	14.3 (57.7)	13.8 (56.8)	10.7 (51.3)	8.3 (46.9)	4.5 (40.1)	1.6 (34.9)	7.0 (44.6)
Record low °C (°F)	−17.5 (0.5)	−13.7 (7.3)	−15.1 (4.8)	−5.0 (23)	−2.0 (28.4)	1.0 (33.8)	5.0 (41)	1.8 (35.2)	0.0 (32)	−3.3 (26.1)	−9.2 (15.4)	−12.0 (10.4)	−17.5 (0.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	83.9 (3.303)	65.3 (2.571)	70.4 (2.772)	81.1 (3.193)	81.2 (3.197)	73.8 (2.906)	71.4 (2.811)	65.3 (2.571)	53.9 (2.122)	74.3 (2.925)	81.0 (3.189)	68.9 (2.713)	874.9 (34.445)
Average precipitation days	12.4	10.6	11.1	10.6	11.2	9.3	6.4	6.0	6.5	9.5	11.7	10.5	115.8
Source #1: Météo Climat
Source #2: Météo Climat

Personalities

Périgueux was the birthplace of:

• Pierre Daumesnil (1776–1832), general of the First Empire.
• Georges Bégué (1911–1993), engineer and agent in the Special Operations Executive
• Francine Benoît (1894–1990), composer, music critic and teacher, who gained Portuguese citizenship in 1929. She taught pianist Maria João Pires and composer Emanuel Nunes, amongst others.
• William Joseph Chaminade (1761–1850), founder of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and the Daughters of Mary Immaculate
• Patrick Ollier (1944–), politician, President of the National Assembly in 2007.
• Jean Clédat (1871–1943), Egyptologist, archaeologist and philologist.
• Ketty Kerviel (1916–2009), film actress
• Nicole Duclos born Salavert (1947–), athlete.
• Rachilde (1860–1953), writer associated with the Decadent and Symbolist movements.
• Julien Dupuy (1983–), rugby union player.
• Greg Mathias (1967–), artist and sculptor, member of the Neo Cubist school of art.
• René Thomas (1886–1975), racing driver, winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1914.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Périgueux is twinned with:

• Amberg, Germany

See also

• Communes of the Dordogne department
• Périgord

External links

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 
• City council of Périgueux
• reports on culture and people in Périgueux
• Web site of the Périgord
• Perigueux-city.com

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