Eauze (; Gascon: ''Eusa'') is a commune in the

Gers Gers (; or , ) is a departments of France, department in the regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to ...

department in southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

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

proto-Basque Proto-Basque (; ; ) is a reconstructed ancient stage of the Basque language. It preceded another reconstructed stage, Common Basque, which is derived by comparing dialects of modern Basque. Common Basque is their reconstructed common ancestor. Pr ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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 Novemp ...

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

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Palaestina Tertia Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Late Roman and Byzantine 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 made ...

(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 () is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Eauze, France. The former cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conf ...

is dedicated to

Saint Luperculus Luperculus (''Lupercus, Lupercius'') (, ) is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Christianity, Christian tradition states that he was a bishop of Eauze and was martyred by the governor Dacian during the reign of Decius.Sabine Baring- ...

, 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), 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 ...

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 ) 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-speaking countries, ''eau de vie ...

, written by

Vital du Four Vital du Four (Bazas, 1260-Avignon, 1327) was a French Franciscan theologian and scholastic philosopher, and Prior (ecclesiastical), prior of Eauze. He became Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal in 1312 and bishop of Albano in 1321. Works * ''Qua ...

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

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

References

External links

Official Site of the commune of Eauze (French)
Communes of Gers Gallia Aquitania Armagnac {{Gers-geo-stub