 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
BordeauxFrance Bordeaux is a port city in the south-west of France, with 925,253 inhabitants in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census, now an estimated one million inhabitants in 2006. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called Bordelais. Bordeaux wine draws its name from the city around which it has been produced since the 8th century. Thus the city is known as the world's wine capital, hosting the wine industry's biggest event worldwide: Vinexpo. Bordeaux is the centre of much military, space and aeronautics research and construction. With almost 100,000 students, the city's university is renowned for its research units in crop science, new materials and nanotechnology. Statistics City area 49.36 km² Population 229,900 - 2004 estimate Urban area 1,057 km² Population 753,931 (1999) Metro area 3,875.2 km² (1999) Population 525,253 (1999) over 1 million (est. 2006) Bordeaux is located near the European Atlantic coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. The city is built on a bend of the river Garonne, and is thus divided into two parts: the right bank to the East and left bank in the West. Historically, the left bank is the more developed. In Bordeaux, the Garonne River is accessible to ocean liners. Between 30,000 and 90,000 years ago the area of Bordeaux was inhabited by the Homo neanderthalensis, whose remains have been found at a famous cave known as Pair-non-Pair, near Bourg sur Gironde, just north of Bordeaux. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town Burdigala. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of Tin and Lead towards Rome. Later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty (3rd century). In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals. Further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. External links
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details). About Wikipedia Disclaimers This information was correct in December 2005. E. & O.E.
We had to go and see Bordeaux, while we were visiting France during 2006, first because neither Hui Chin or I had visited the place recently and well secondly because we wanted to try the famous wine right at the source, before third parties messed with etc. Cheers, here to you all. Must admit it is quite a good drop.
You can click on these photos for an enlargement.
Site Index Back to Top Photos Index Thanks for coming, I hope you
have enjoyed it, will recommend
it to your friends, and will come
back later to see my site developing
and expanding.
|
