Marmande (; in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

, ''Marmanda'') is a commune in the

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.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' in south-western France.

Geography

Marmande is located 35 km north-west of

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 ...

, on the southern railway from

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 ...

Sète Sète (; , ), also historically spelled ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises'' (fem ...

. The town is situated at the confluence of the Trec with the

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

on the right bank of the latter river, which is crossed at this point by a suspension bridge. There is a second bridge to the west of Marmande which connects the D933 from the Toulouse/Bordeaux motorway ( A62) to the new by-pass, opened in July 2009, which now leads to Bergerac and the ''département'' of 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 ...

Marmande station Marmande is a railway station in Marmande, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The station is located on the Bordeaux–Sète railway and Marmande-Mont-de-Marsan railway lines. The station is served by Intercités (long distance, also night train) and Tr ...

has rail connections to Agen, Langon and Bordeaux. Marmande ranks 481st in terms of population for the whole of France. A noted producer of tomatoes, a festival dedicated to tomatoes is held annually in July.

History

Marmande was a ''

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the 13th and 14th centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides ...

'' founded about 1195 on the site of a more ancient town by Richard Cœur de Lion, who granted it a liberal measure of self-government. Its position on the banks of the Garonne made it an important place of toll. It soon passed into the hands of the

counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding ...

, and was three times besieged and taken during the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...

, its capture by Amaury de Montfort in 1219 being followed by a massacre of the inhabitants. It was united to the French crown under

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

. A short occupation by the English in 1447, an unsuccessful siege by Henry IV in 1577 and its resistance of a month to a division of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

's army in 1814, are some important events in its subsequent history.

Population

Sights

Apart from the administrative offices, the most notable building is the church of Notre-Dame, which dates from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. The windows of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, the

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

of the 18th century and, in particular, the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

adjoining the south side, are some of its most interesting features. The town is host to the Garorock music festival.

Economy

The town is renowned for its tomato production. The average income per household is 19,520 €/year

Sport

Marmande has a

grasstrack Motorcycle Grasstrack is a form of track racing which typically, in its current form, takes place on a flat track consisting of two straights and two bends usually constructed in a field. It is one of the oldest types of motorcycle sports in t ...

, longtrack and

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

facility. The venue has been major venue for events and has held a final round of

Individual Speedway Long Track World Championship This is the complete list of Individual Long Track World Championship medalists from 1971. Also included are the medalists from 1957 to 1970 when the championship was known as the European Individual Long Track Championship. Medalists Europ ...

on multiple occasions, qualifying rounds of the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

(the first in 1993) and a qualifying round of the

Speedway World Team Cup The Speedway World Team Cup was an annual motorcycle speedway, speedway event held each year in different countries. The competition started in 1960 and was replaced with the Speedway World Cup in 2001. Format From 1960 until 1985, each team c ...

in 1992. The commune has a football club FC Marmande 47, who play at the Michelon Stadium.

People linked to the commune

* Abel-Dominique Boyé : (1864–1934) born in Marmande; painter * Jean-Pierre Fourcade : born in Marmande 18 October 1929 ; Minister of Economy and Finances from 1974 to 1976 (Prime minister:

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

) ; Minister of Equipment in 1976/1977 (Prime minister :

Raymond Barre Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents ( Rey, Malfatti a ...

); Mayor of

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

(1995–2007) and senator of Hauts-de-Seine since 1977. * Hubert Ruffe : born in

Penne-d'Agenais Penne-d'Agenais (, literally ''Penne of Agenais''; Languedocien: ''Pena d’Agenés'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of Fr ...

29 August 1899, died 28 August 1995 ; active in the 1920s in defence of peasants, he was elected as a communist deputy for the Marmande constituency in 1946 and re-elected to this post seven times between 1946 and 1981. He appeared in 1974 in

Jean-Daniel Simon Jean-Daniel Simon (30 November 1942 – 3 February 2021) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed eight films between 1968 and 1985. In 1975 he was a member of the jury at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival. Selec ...

' film '' Il pleut toujours où c'est mouillé'', playing himself and describing the difficulties faced by peasants during that period. * Renaud Jean : born in Marmande (1887–1961) ; leader of peasant

syndicalism Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through Strike action, strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goa ...

in France during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and first communist peasant deputy, in 1920, for the Marmande constituency. He was re-elected. *

Jean Cadenat Jean Cadenat (born Marmande, Lot-et-Garonne 16 April 1908, died Marmande 28 June 1992) was a French ichthyologist. Biography In 1930, he joined the Agricultural Zoology station at La Grand Ferrade as an assistant preparator and the following year ...

: born 16 April 1908 in Marmande; died 28 June 1992 in Marmande, ichthyologist *

Léopold Faye Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

: born 16 November 1828 in Marmande ; died 5 September 1900 in Birac. He had been mayor of Marmande, then occupied national offices : minister of public instruction, religion and fine arts (12 December 1887 – 3 April 1888), then minister of agriculture in 1889. * Jean Jules Brun : born in Marmande 24 April 1849, died 1911, minister of war under the Third Republic, from 24 July 1909 to 27 February 1911 (First government of

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

). General. * Paul Bourrillon (1877–1942) : cyclist *

François Combefis François Combefis (or Combefisius) (November 1605 – 23 March 1679) was a French Dominican patrologist. He published previously unedited works by John Chrysostom. Life He was born at Marmande, made his preliminary studies in the Jesuit C ...

: Dominican, born in Marmande in 1605. * Tristan Derème : poet, born in Marmande in 1899. * Pierrick Fédrigo : cyclist, born in Marmande 20 November 1978. * Jean-Pierre de Vincenzi :

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

trainer, born in Marmande 27 March 1957, trainer of the French basketball team that became vice champions at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. Technical director of the Fédération Française de Basket-Ball. * Jean-Jacques Crenca :

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player *

Francesca Solleville Francesca Solleville (born 2 March 1932, Périgueux) is a French singer. She lives in Malakoff (Hauts-de-Seine). She is the granddaughter of the founder of the . She is married to the painter Louis . Biography Francesca Solleville was born in P ...

: French singer, grand daughter of the Italian socialist Luigi Campolonghi, spent part of her childhood in Marmande. In 1990, she wrote a song called "Marmande" for her album ''Je suis ainsi''. * Pierre Deluns-Montaud : 1845 – 1907, deputy for Marmande constituency (6 April 1879 to 31 May 1898), minister of public works under prime minister Charles Floquet 3 April 1888 to 14 February 1889. * Fabien Lavergne: born in Marmande 25 October 1985, racing driver

Twin towns

Ejea de los Caballeros Ejea de los Caballeros (; ), commonly known simply as Ejea, is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is one of the five main towns i ...

, Spain *

Portogruaro Portogruaro (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy. The city is the centre of a district, made up of 11 ''comuni'', which form the Venezia Orientale with the San Donà di Piave district. History ...

, Italy *

Peso da Régua :''Regua leads here. For American major general, see Eldon Regua'' Peso da Régua (), commonly known as Régua, is a city and municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real (district), Vila Real. The population in 2011 was 17,131 ( ...

, Portugal

References

External links

Official web site

Grasstrack website
{{Authority control Communes of Lot-et-Garonne Subprefectures in France 1195 establishments in Europe 1190s establishments in France Agenais