Eauze (; Gascon: ''Eusa'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in southwestern France.

History

Located in the heart of south-west France, 130 kilometers from the Spanish border, Eauze is originally a

proto-Basque Proto-Basque ( eu, aitzineuskara; es, protoeuskera, protovasco; french: proto-basque), or Pre-Basque, is the reconstructed predecessor of the Basque language before the Roman conquests in the Western Pyrenees. Background The first linguist wh ...

city that became Roman. It was the capital of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

province of

Novempopulania Novempopulania ( Latin for "country of the nine peoples") was one of the provinces created by Diocletian (Roman emperor from 284 to 305) out of Gallia Aquitania, which was also called ''Aquitania Tertia''. Early Roman period The area of Nove ...

until the eighth century. Its Latin name, Elusa, is identical to that of a titular see of

Palaestina Tertia Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Byzantine (Eastern Roman) province, which covered the area of the Negev, Sinai (except the north western coast) and south-west of Transjordan, south of the Dead Sea. The province, a part of the Dio ...

, suffragan of Petra.

Geography

Eauze is twinned with

Ampuero Ampuero is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. It is surrounded by the municipalities of Limpias, Liendo, Voto, Guriezo and Rasines. Its strategic location in the centre of the Asón-Agüera County has mad ...

(Spain).

Climate

The weather is typical of the southwestern French climate, characterized by an oceanic influence and high temperatures in summer. The annual sunshine is around 2,000 hours. In winter, frosts can be large and reach a minimum early morning temperature of -5 °C. On the other hand, summers are favorable to the strong heat and the proximity of the ocean accentuates the temperatures felt which regularly reach 35 to 38 °C. In spring and autumn, temperatures range from 12 to 27 °C.

Sites of interest

Eauze Cathedral Eauze Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Luperc d'Eauze) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Eauze, France. The former cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the c ...

is dedicated to

Saint Luperculus Luperculus (''Lupercus, Lupercius'') (french: Luperc, Loubert, es, Lupercio) is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Christian tradition states that he was a bishop of Eauze and was martyred by the governor Dacian during the reign o ...

, who is said to have been a bishop here in the third century before being martyred. Eauze is also home to the Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA), the

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditiona ...

brandy's trade association. The association of this drink with the town comes from one of the first recorded documents of

eau de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 literally " water of life") is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speakin ...

, written by

Vital du Four Vital du Four (Bazas, 1260-Avignon, 1327) was a French Franciscan theologian and scholastic philosopher, and prior of Eauze. He became Cardinal in 1312 and bishop of Albano in 1321. Works * ''Quaestiones disputate de rerum principio'', wrongly ...

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be low ...

of Eauze, in about 1310.

Events

Eauze has a market on Thursday mornings and there is also a separate poultry and rabbit market. Map commune FR insee code 32119

Population