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Brive la Gaillarde

Brive-la-Gaillarde
Visitor centre
Visitor centre
Coat of arms of Brive-la-Gaillarde
Coat of arms
Brive-la-Gaillarde is located in France
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Coordinates: 45°09′30″N 1°31′56″E / 45.1583°N 1.5321°E / 45.1583; 1.5321Coordinates: 45°09′30″N 1°31′56″E / 45.1583°N 1.5321°E / 45.1583; 1.5321
Country France
Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Corrèze
Arrondissement Brive-la-Gaillarde
Intercommunality Brive
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Philippe Nauche
Area1 48.59 km2 (18.76 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 49,675
 • Density 1,000/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 19031 /19100
Elevation 102–315 m (335–1,033 ft)
(avg. 142 m or 466 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Brive-la-Gaillarde (French pronunciation: ​[bʁiv la ɡajaʁd]; Limousin dialect of Occitan language: Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. It has around 50,000 inhabitants, while the population of the urban area was 89,260 in 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle. In French popular culture, the town is associated with a song by Georges Brassens.

Even though the inhabitants settled around the 1st century, the city only started to grow much later. From around the 5th century onwards, the original city began to develop around a church dedicated to Saint-Martin-l'Espagnol. During the 12th century walls were built around the city and during the Hundred Years' War a second wall was built. These fortifications no longer exist and have been replaced by boulevards.

The commune was named "Brive" until 1919, when it was renamed "Brive-la-Gaillarde". The word "Gaillarde" (still used in current French) probably stands for bravery or strength in the city's name, but it can also refer to the city's walls. Brive now extends outside of its original boundaries into Malemort and Ussac.

During World War II, Brive-la-Gaillarde was a regional capital of the Resistance, acting as a seat of several clandestine information networks and several of the principal resistance movements, including the Armée secrète (or “Secret Army”) and the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance (or “United Movements of the Resistance”).


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