Aquitaine – origins
Aquitaine is part of Nouvelle Aquitaine, one of the thirteen new regions created by the territorial reform that came into effect on January 1, 2016. Bordeaux is its capital and administrative centre.
Aquitaine consists of five departments: Landes (40 – Mont-de-Marsan), Gironde (33 – Bordeaux), Dordogne (24 – Périgueux), Lot-et-Garonne (47 – Agen) and Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64 – Pau).
Southwest France has been inhabited since the Lower Palaeolithic period. The early settlers found refuge in the natural rock shelters carved by the Dordogne and Vézère rivers into the limestone cliffs.
By exploring this region, you will encounter our distant ancestors, delve into their rich and complex culture, and discover the places where they lived, worked, prayed, painted, perished, and were buried.
Their imprint adorns the walls of caves scattered throughout the departments of Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne, ensuring the continuity of their heritage through the millennia in this wild land. UNESCO has inscribed the magnificent and preserved Vézère Valley on the World Heritage List.
Provincia Aquitania and Duchy of Aquitaine
The Iberian tribe of the Aquitani gave its name to the region, which stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the northern foothills of the Pyrenees.
In 56 BC, the Romans conquered Aquitaine, developed it, organized it, administered it, and planted the first vineyards that brought it renown. Emperor Augustus established the Provincia of Aquitania in 16 BC, and Emperor Vespasian designated Burdigala (Bordeaux) as its capital in the 1st century AD.
In 412 AD, the Visigoths invaded the province. However, the Frankish king Clovis defeated the Visigothic king Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507 AD, thus integrating the province into the newly formed kingdom of France.
In 675 AD, the Merovingian King Dagobert founded the Duchy of Aquitaine and retained Bordeaux as its capital.
Five centuries later, Aquitaine found itself caught in the Franco-English rivalry that ravaged southwestern France for generations. The triggering event was in 1152, when Eleanor, only daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, married the future King Henry II of England, bringing him southwestern France as her dowry. From then on, the region was ravaged, occupied and shaped by incessant conflicts until the middle of the 15th century.
These conflicts gave Aquitaine a dual identity, marked by the mixture of French and English cultures and the establishment of Protestantism. Called Guyenne, a corruption of Aquitaine, from 1259 to 1453, it was finally annexed to the Crown of France in 1472.
Modern day Aquitaine
The region’s coastline stretches for over 200 km, from the Gironde estuary to the Spanish border. It is home to prestigious seaside resorts such as Biarritz, Hossegor and Arcachon, along its long beaches of fine white sand.
Maritime pines were planted in the 19th century to stabilize the coastal dunes. These pine forests dominate most of the Landes department. The hinterland is characterized by a vast plain, bordered to the south by the Pyrenees. The Pyrénées-Atlantiques department corresponds to the French Basque Country.
The region benefits from a strong oceanic influence and the warmth of the Gulf Stream, which ensures a pleasant climate throughout the year. Renowned for its warm and moderate summers, mild winters and 2,200 hours of sunshine per year, Aquitaine is ideal for viticulture and agriculture, particularly in the Bordeaux vineyards.
Today, it is among the most visited French regions, attracting visitors and second-home buyers from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
Area: 41,308 km²
Population: 3,335,000 (01/01/2014)
