Lesparre-Médoc (; , ), commonly known as Lesparre (), is a commune in the
Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.
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 ...
, 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 ...
Lesparre is on the Médoc peninsula about 80 km north of Bordeaux.
History
Traces of human occupation from the Neolithic era have been discovered in the town. Before the arrival of the Romans, the area was inhabited by the Biturges, a Celtic tribe. After the Roman Empire collapsed, various peoples such as the Arabs and Normans came into the area. During the rule of Charlemagne, a castle was built to protect the town from further invasions. In the
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
it was the site of
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
. The
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tr ...
Aimeric de Belenoi was born here. In 1790, the town was promoted to district capital. During WWII, the town was the site of guerilla warfare with German troops. During the 20th century, the infrastructure of the town was expanded and the population grew to 5,200 people.
Population
International relations
Lesparre is twinned with Drayton in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England.