Fronsac, Gironde

Fronsac
Fronsac
	Commune
	The church in Fronsac
	Coat of arms
	Location of Fronsac
	Fronsac Fronsac
	Coordinates: 44°55′30″N 0°16′19″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Gironde
Arrondissement	Libourne
Canton	Le Libournais-Fronsadais
Intercommunality	Fronsadais
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Marcel Durant
Area 1	15.29 km2 (5.90 sq mi)
Population (2017-01-01)[1]	1,153
• Density	75/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	33174 /33126
Elevation	1–84 m (3.3–275.6 ft) ; (avg. 30 m or 98 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Fronsac is a commune in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. The town gave its name to the Fronsac AOC wine.

Geography

The commune is situated in the Fronsadais and is bordered on the south by the Dordogne River and on the east by the Isle River, which separates it from Libourne. Fronsac is 40 km northeast of Bordeaux and 5 km northwest of Libourne and the Saint-Émilion and Pomerol appellations.

The tidal bore's viaduct allows the A89 motorway to cross the Dordogne, between Fronsac (on the right bank) and Arveyres

History

Fronsac's mound owes its history to its privileged position. It was the site of the Gauls' market, the Romans erected an altar there, and Charlemagne built a fortified camp on the mound ("Franciacus") in 769, where the Basques led by duke Lupo came to pledge allegiance to the Frankish King after Aquitaine's submission. In 849, Fronsac was pillaged by Hasting, the chief of the Vikings.[2] The Marechal of Richelieu had a "folly" built there, to an extravagant architectural design, where he held courtly entertainments. As word spread of these events, the renown of Fronsac's wines was carried with it to the Court of Versailles. In the 18th Century, the names of Fronsac and Canon Fronsac enjoyed a very good reputation. It was at this time that the concept of "cru" first appeared in the Libournais.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	1,230	—
1968	1,155	−6.1%
1975	1,129	−2.3%
1982	1,170	+3.6%
1990	1,067	−8.8%
1999	1,042	−2.3%
2008	1,046	+0.4%

Administration

List of Mayors
Period	Name	Party	Background
1983–present (re-elected in March 2008)	Marcel Durant	UMP	Retired farmer
Earlier data are not known

Sights

Saint-Martin's Church, which is classed as a Monument historique, (historical monument).

Personalities

Guillaume-Sanche de Pommiers, Sire of Pommiers, Viscount of Fronsac
Joachim Rouhault de Gamaches

International Relations

Fronsac is twinned with Pasiano di Pordenone.[3]

Wine

Situated on the right bank of the Gironde River, the commune is an appellation in itself, as well as a sub-appellation, Canon-Fronsac AOC.

References

"Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
Michel Dillange (1995). Les Comtes de Poitou, Ducs d'Aquitaine (778–1204) (in French) (Geste éditions, coll. ed.). La Crèche. p. 56. ISBN 2-910919-09-9.
Directory of Twinned Towns and Cities

External links

Fronsac wine information

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.

[2] Michel Dillange (1995). Les Comtes de Poitou, Ducs d'Aquitaine (778–1204) (in French) (Geste éditions, coll. ed.). La Crèche. p. 56. ISBN 2-910919-09-9.

[3] Directory of Twinned Towns and Cities