Blanquefort (Blanquefort)
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The commune consists of historic Blanquefort and Caychac, which is further out from central Bordeaux and was formerly a commune in its own right. Historic Blanquefort includes the ruins of a small medieval fortress and a nineteenth-century park, the Parc de Majolan, complete with a maze-like grotto and small artificial ruins which were in vogue at that time.
Blanquefort is well connected to the rest of the agglomeration by the Bordeaux bus services, including services most of the night. It also has a train station with regular services to central Bordeaux. The Bordeaux tram system is projected to connect with Blanquefort in 2013.
Blanquefort, which is located in a famous wine-producing area, has a notable educational institution for viticulture.
The oldest signs of human habitation in the commune are pieces of pottery dating back to 2000 BC. This is in line with the very early settlement of all south-western France by pre-historic peoples (e.g. in the Périgord)
A Roman military post was set up in the area, to ensure the security of the road to Noviomagus in the Medoc. Tiles and coins from the Roman occupation have been found around the site of the later fortress.
In the ninth century, a first medieval fortification was built. The white stone gave the fort the name "White Fort", in Latin Blanca Fortis, which evolved into the modern name Blanquefort. During the Plantagenet holding of Aquitaine, the fortifications were expanded into a royal fortress at the end of the thirteenth century by Edward I of England. At the end of the Hundred Years War, the fortress became French. A wine-producing village grew around the fortifications, probably worked predominantly by serfs.
Blanquefort is located in a region which has been notable for wine production since ancient times. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a number of small chateaux were constructed in the prosperous village by wealthy wine merchants. The economy of the village focussed on wine production. In the seventeenth century, the Château Dillon was built in Blanquefort by the Dillon family which migrated to Blanquefort from Ireland.
During the French Revolution, as part of the central Gironde, the village was loosely connected with the conflict between Gironde deputies and Jacobins in the national government. As with the other nearby areas, the village would probably have supported a moderate course for the revolution and there was probably support for the federalist constitutional proposals which were popular in Bordeaux. The village was well within the territory of the federalist insurrection of 1793. Unfortunately, no historical records exist which discuss the politics of the village during revolution.
In 1900, the population was 2000. From the beginning of the twentieth century, the reliance of the village economy on wine production became a problem as economic crises took their toll. In 1962, the now-impoverished village created an industrial zone on former marshland. Combined with its proximity to Bordeaux, this led to a rapid growth of the village, which was now becoming a suburb of expanding Bordeaux.
Map - Blanquefort (Blanquefort)
Map
Country - France
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| Flag of France | |
Inhabited since the Palaeolithic era, the territory of Metropolitan France was settled by Celtic tribes known as Gauls during the Iron Age. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture that laid the foundation of the French language. The Germanic Franks formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia becoming the Kingdom of France in 987. In the High Middle Ages, France was a powerful but highly decentralised feudal kingdom. Philip II successfully strengthened royal power and defeated his rivals to double the size of the crown lands; by the end of his reign, France had emerged as the most powerful state in Europe. From the mid-14th to the mid-15th century, France was plunged into a series of dynastic conflicts involving England, collectively known as the Hundred Years' War, and a distinct French identity emerged as a result. The French Renaissance saw art and culture flourish, conflict with the House of Habsburg, and the establishment of a global colonial empire, which by the 20th century would become the second-largest in the world. The second half of the 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Huguenots that severely weakened the country. France again emerged as Europe's dominant power in the 17th century under Louis XIV following the Thirty Years' War. Inadequate economic policies, inequitable taxes and frequent wars (notably a defeat in the Seven Years' War and costly involvement in the American War of Independence) left the kingdom in a precarious economic situation by the end of the 18th century. This precipitated the French Revolution of 1789, which overthrew the Ancien Régime and produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which expresses the nation's ideals to this day.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EU | Basque language |
| BR | Breton language |
| CA | Catalan language |
| CO | Corsican language |
| FR | French language |
| OC | Occitan language |