Limoges

Limoges is a city and commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated on the first western foothills of the Massif Central, Limoges is crossed by the river Vienne, of which it was originally the first ford crossing point.
The second most populated town in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region after Bordeaux, a university town, an administrative centre and intermediate services with all the facilities of a regional metropolis, it has an urban area of 323,789 inhabitants in 2018. The inhabitants of the city are called the Limougeauds.
Founded around 10 BC under the name of Augustoritum, it became an important Gallo-Roman city. During the Middle Ages Limoges became a large city, strongly marked by the cultural influence of the Abbey of Saint-Martial, where the Dukes of Aquitaine were invested and crowned. From the 12th century onwards, its enamels were exported throughout the Christian world. In 1765, during the industrial revolution, the discovery of a deposit of kaolin in the Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche region enabled the development of the Limoges porcelain industry. It is sometimes nicknamed "the red city" or "the Rome of socialism" because of its tradition of voting on the left and the workers' events it experienced from the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century.
Since the 1990s, the city has had a basketball club, Limoges CSP, which has won several French championships and the European championship in 1993. Because of its heritage policy, it has held the label "City of Art and History" since 2008. Economic activities include butchering, electrical equipment for the building industry, and luxury goods. It is home to porcelain houses and art workshops working with enamel or stained glass. This craft expertise led it to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2017 in the thematic category "Crafts and Popular Arts".

History

Ancient and medieval history

Scarce remains of pre-urban settlements have been found in the area of Limoges. The capital of the Gaulish people of the Lemovices, who lived in the area, was probably either near Villejoubert, some kilometres south-east of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, or St Gence, just west of Limoges.
The city proper was founded as Augustoritum by the Romans, around 10 BC: "rito-" is Gaulish for "ford". The foundation was part of the reorganization of the province by the emperor Augustus, hence the new name. The Roman city included an amphitheatre measuring 136 x 115 metres, a theatre, a forum, baths and several sanctuaries. According to tradition, a temple consecrated to Venus, Diana, Minerva and Jupiter was located near the modern cathedral. The city was on the typical Roman square plan, with two main streets crossing in the centre. It had a Senate and a currency of its own, a sign of its importance in the imperial age. Later, like many towns and cities in Gaul, it was renamed after the tribe whose chief town it was; "Lemovices" subsequently evolved into "Limoges", and "Lemovicinus" for the area around changed into "Limousin".
Limoges was evangelized by Saint Martial, who came to the city around 250 with two companions, Alpinianus and Austriclinienus. However, in the late 3rd century it was increasingly abandoned, due to unsafe conditions created by the invasions of various Germanic tribes. The population was concentrated instead in a more easily fortifiable site, the modern Puy Saint-Étienne, which is the centre of the modern Limoges. Starting with the construction of the Abbey of St. Martial, another settlement grew around the tomb of the saint, while a third area, next to the residence of the viscount, seems to have been populated from the 10th century.
Starting from the 11th century, thanks to the presence of the Abbey of St. Martial and its large library, Limoges became a flourishing artistic centre. It was home to an important school of medieval music composition, which is usually called the St. Martial School; its most famous member was the 13th-century troubadour Bertran de Born.
File:Limoges ciborium circa 1200.jpg|thumb|upright|Limoges enamel ciborium with champlevé enamel, and center rim in pseudo-Kufic
script,
In the 13th century, at the peak of its splendour, central Limoges consisted of two fortified settlements.

The town proper, with a new line of walls encompassing the Vienne River, inhabited mainly by clerks and workers. It has a bridge on the Vienne river named after Saint-Étienne, built by the bishops, and a developed port. Sacked in 1370, it never recovered entirely.
The castle, with 12 metre high walls, including the abbey controlled by the abbot, sometimes in contrast with the bishop-ruled town. Traces of the walls can still be seen in the city centre. Outside the lines of walls were the popular quarters.

In 1370, Limoges was occupied by Edward, the Black Prince, who massacred some 300 residents, "perhaps a sixth of the normal population", with another 60 members of the garrison of 140 dead as well.

Modern history

The porcelain industry started to develop, favoured by the presence of kaolinite which was discovered near Limoges in 1768. Many of the inhabitants became employed in the new sector or in connected activities in manufacture and exporting needed for European distribution of Limoges Boxes, dinnerware, and other porcelain wares. Because the Limousin region has had a long history of breeding, the leather industry also settled in and around Limoges along the banks of the Vienne–the river providing the necessary water and power. Factories in Limoges and St Junien still produce luxury leather shoes, gloves, and bags.
The city and castle were united in 1792 to form the single city of Limoges. During the French Revolution several religious edifices, considered symbols of the Ancien Régime, were destroyed by the population: these included the Abbey of St. Martial itself.
In the 19th century Limoges saw strong construction activity, which included the destruction and rebuilding of much of the city centre. The unsafe conditions of the poorer population is highlighted by the outbreak of several riots, including that of July–November 1830 and April 1848. The first French confederation of workers, Confédération Générale du Travail , was created in Limoges in 1895.
In early 1905, strikes began in another local industry, shoe factories soon followed in the porcelain factories. Barricades were built, the army intervened. There would be two casualties: a horse and a young porcelain worker, Camille Vardelle.
During World War II, many Jews from Alsace were evacuated to Limoges and the surrounding area.

Climate

Limoges experiences an oceanic climate common to much of Western France. Most precipitation occurs between October and February. On 27 December 1999, winds reached. On average, the city experiences 41 days of frost and 18 days of snow each winter. In June, July and August, precipitation tends to come only from violent thunderstorms coming from the Bay of Biscay.

Demographics

In 2018, the population of the commune proper was 131,479, and of the Limoges functional urban area 323,789. Inhabitants of Limoges are called limougeauds in French. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Limoges proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Limoges absorbed the former commune of Beaune-les-Mines in 1962.

Main sights

The Crypt of Saint Martial, 10th century, including the tomb of the bishop who evangelized the city. It was discovered in the 1960s while building an underground parking lot.
Remains of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre, one of the largest in ancient Gaul.
The Gothic Limoges Cathedral, begun in 1273 and only finished in 1888. It is noted for a fine loft built in 1534 and for the partly octagonal bell tower. The main artistic works are a Renaissance rood screen and the tomb of the bishop Jean de Langeac, with sculpted scenes of the Apocalypse.
The Chapelle Saint-Aurélien. It includes the relics of St. Aurelian, the second bishop of Limoges, and has medieval statues and Baroque works of art.
The church of St-Pierre-du-Queyroix, begun in the 12th century
Church of St-Michel-des-Lions, begun in 1364. It houses the relics of St. Martial and has stained-glass windows from the 15th–16th century. The most striking feature is the 65 m-high tower, with a spire surmounted by a big bronze ball.
The bridges of Saint Martial and of St-Étienne.
The Limoges Fine Arts Museum, housed in the 18th-century bishops' palace.
The Hôtel de Ville, completed in 1883
The railway station, Gare de Limoges Bénédictins, inaugurated in 1929.
The Château de La Borie, from the city. It is home to the Centre Culturel de Rencontre de La Borie et l'Ensemble Baroque de Limoges.
The remains of the 12th-century Castle of Chalucet, south of the city. During the Hundred Years' War it was a base of bands of pillagers who ravaged the country.
The city's botanical gardens include the Jardin botanique de l'Evêché next to the cathedral.
The University of Limoges was founded in 1968.
Art and literature

"Le marché de Limoges" is the name of a section of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky.
In 1768, kaolin, a rock rich in fine, white clay which is used for making porcelain, was discovered at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, 30 km south of Limoges. Under the impetus of the progressive economist Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, who had been appointed intendant of this impoverished and isolated region, a new ceramics industry was developed, and Limoges porcelain became famous during the 19th century. However, Limoges porcelain is a generic term for porcelain produced in Limoges rather than at a specific factory. More than 50% of all porcelain made in France comes from Limoges.