Périgueux Information
Périgueux (French pronunciation: [peʁiɡø] ( listen)) (Occitan: Peireguers [pejɾeˈɣɥes ~ pejɾeˈɡœː] or Periguers [peɾiˈɣɥes ~ peɾiˈɡœː]) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Aquitaine in south-western France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of the department and the capital of the region. It is also the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese.
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History
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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.
During the year 1940, many Jews from Alsace and Alsatians were evacuated to Périgueux.
Simone Mareuil (a lead actor 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.
Main sights
There is an amphitheater, 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 perisink.
The cathedral
Main article: Périgueux Cathedral The bell tower of St Front's cathedralThe cathedral of St Front was built after 1120 AD 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-Etienne 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 and Brive-la-Gaillarde and other regional destinations.
Notable people
Périgueux was the birthplace of:
- William Joseph Chaminade (1761–1850), founder of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and the Daughters of Mary Immaculate
See also
References
External links
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
- (French) City council of Périgueux
- (French) reports on culture and people in Périgueux
- (French) Web site of the Périgord
- (French) Perigueux-city.com
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Categories: Communes of Dordogne | Prefectures in France |
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