Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

. Named after the

Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; , ; , ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just downstream of the centre of Bordeaux. Coverin ...

, a major waterway, its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.Populations légales 2019: 33 Gironde
INSEE The famous

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

region is in Gironde. It has six arrondissements, making it one of the

departments 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, ...

with the most arrondissements (

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

also has six, while

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

has the most of any department, with seven).

History

Gironde is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the

former provinces A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne ( , ; ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the Catholic archdiocese of Bordeaux. Name The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transform ...

and

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

. From 1793 to 1795, the department's name was changed to ''Bec-d'Ambès'' to avoid the association with the

Girondist The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...

political party of the French Revolution. In July 2022, Gironde was affected by large wildfires.

Geography

Gironde is part of the current region of

and is surrounded by the departments of Landes,

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

and

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

on the west. With an area of 10,000 km², Gironde is the largest department in

metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

, and the second-largest in entire

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 ...

. Its size is larger than

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

or the province of

Banten Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...

. If overseas departments are included, however, Gironde's land area is dwarfed by the 83,846 km² of

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

. Gironde is well known for the

Côte d'Argent Côte d’Argent (; ) is a name given to part of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Aquitaine region in France. Etymology The term was first coined to describe the Aquitaine coast in 1905 by the journalist and poet Maurice Martin. The Con ...

beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many surfers to Lacanau each year. It is also the birthplace of

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the A ...

who studied the sea and all forms of life in water.

The Great Dune of Pyla The Dune of Pilat ( , official name), also called ''Grande Dune du Pilat'', is the tallest sand dune in Europe. It is located in La Teste-de-Buch in the Arcachon Bay area, France, 60 km (37.2 mi) southwest of Bordeaux along France's At ...

Arcachon Bay Arcachon Basin or alternatively Arcachon Bay (, ; ) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest coast of France, situated in Pays de Buch between the Côte d'Argent and the Côte des Landes, in the region of Aquitaine. The bay covers an ar ...

near Bordeaux is the tallest sand dune in Europe.C.G. (14 August 2009). Les Adresses de Mathilde Seigner et Fabien Onteniente. ''

Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...

''.

Demographics

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 30,000 inhabitants:

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is Jean-Luc Gleyze of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

File:Place-Bourse Bordeaux-boosted-colours.jpg,

File:Cave Blanc Château de Rochemorin.JPG,

File:Dune du pyla 2009.JPG,

File:Arcachon tchanquée.JPG,

File:Bourg-sur-Gironde2.jpg, Bourg-sur-Gironde File:Château de La Brède en Gironde.jpg,

Château de la Brède The Château de La Brède is a feudal castle in the '' commune'' of La Brède in the '' département'' of Gironde, France. The castle was built in the Gothic style starting in 1306, on the site of an earlier castle. It is surrounded by water-f ...

, birthplace of

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

File:France - Blaye - La Gironde depuis la citadelle.jpg, The

seen from the citadel of

Blaye Blaye (; ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordeaux or fur ...

File:Les Grottes de Ferrand.jpg,

Grottoes of Ferrand The Grottoes of Ferrand (French language, French: ''Grottes de Ferrand'') are a series of 17th-century artificial grottoes on the estate of the Château de Ferrand in Saint-Hippolyte, Gironde, Saint-Hippolyte, Gironde, in southwestern France, near ...

File:Château des Freytets nouveau château d'Eck cadaujac.JPG, Château d'Eck

References

External links

*
Departmental Council website
*
Prefecture website
*
Tourism Office website
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790