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 ...
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 ...
.
Geography
Le Bugue is located on the banks of the river
Vézère
The Vézère (; ) is a 211-km-long river in southwestern France. It is an important tributary to the Dordogne (river), Dordogne. Its source is in the northwestern part of the elevated plateau known as the Massif Central. It flows into the Dordog ...
a few kilometres before the confluence of the Vézère with the
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 ...
at Limeuil. Le Bugue is also on two national routes (Route Nationale 703 and Route Nationale 710).
Le Bugue station
Le Bugue is a railway station in Le Bugue, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Niversac - Agen railway line. The station is served by TER (local) services operated by SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer fran ...
has rail connections to Périgueux and Agen.
History
Le Bugue has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 964 a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery was founded in Le Bugue under the name of Saint Marcel and Saint Salvador. The monastery had disappeared by the late 19th century.
Le Bugue enjoyed a period of prosperity until 1154, when the
province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Périgord
Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...
came under English control. Le Bugue was often disputed between British troops and those of the King of France, and therefore suffered greatly.
One of the most important dates in the history of Le Bugue is November 1319, when the King of France, Philippe Le Long, ordered by deed that the market be perpetually held on Tuesday. This act is still presently in force.
Le Bugue was a quiet commercial town until the French Revolution. However, it endured some fratricidal struggles between the lords of Limeuil and Fleurac.
The end of the 19th century was marked by the construction of the local bridge and the arrival of the railroad (the line between
Périgueux
Périgueux (, ; or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of ...
and
Agen
Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485.
Geography
The city of Agen l ...
).
Le Bugue owes part of its fame to the chemist and physician Jean Rey who discovered the
Law of Conservation of Mass
In physics and chemistry, the law of conservation of mass or principle of mass conservation states that for any system closed to all transfers of matter the mass of the system must remain constant over time.
The law implies that mass can neith ...
200 years before
Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), CNRS (
Population
In popular culture
The fictional town of St. Denis, featured in ''Bruno, Chief of Police'', the detective novel series by Martin Walker, is based on Le Bugue. ref>
See also
*
Communes of the Dordogne department
The following is a list of the 503 communes of the Dordogne department of France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include Fren ...
Personality
* Jean Rey (c. 1583 - c. 1645) was a French physician and chemist.
* Jean Kerebel (Jean-Baptiste Kerebel; 2 April 1918 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
– 9 March 2010) was a French track and field athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres.