Bordeaux | Photography

‘Bordeaux’

Bordeaux France

Bordeaux

Ashley Davidoff

Introduction

Bordeaux at the origin of the Garonne River

“Bordeaux (French pronunciation: [bɔʁ.do] ; Gascon: Bordèu; Basque: Bordele) is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France. The Bordeaux metropolitan area has a population of 1,105,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called Bordelais. Bordeaux is the world’s major wine industry capital. It is home to the world’s main wine fair, Vinexpo,[1] while the wine economy in the metro area moves 14.5 billion euros each year.[2] Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as “an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble” of the 18th century. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town Burdigala, probably of Aquitainian origin. The name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges, an allied Roman tribe, and the Tigurini let by Divico. The Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus was killed in the action. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin and lead towards Rome. Later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty (3rd century). In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals. Further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. Merovingian tremisses minted in Bordeaux by the Church of Saint-Étienne, late 6th century. British Museum. In the late 6th century, the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, but royal Frankish power was never strong. The city started to play a regional role as a major urban centre on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia. The city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732, after he had defeated Duke Eudes in the Battle of the River Garonne near Bordeaux and before the former was killed during the Battle of Tours on 10 October. After Duke Eudes’s defeat, Aquitaine pledged allegiance formally to the new rising Carolingian dynasty, but still remained out of Frankish central rule until 768 (Duke Waifer defeated). In 736, the Aquitanian duke Hunald led a rebellion after his father Eudes’s death, at which Charles responded by sending an expedition that captured Bordeaux, while the Frankish commander didn’t retain it for long, since he left south-east to wage war in Narbonnaise. In 778, Seguin (or Sihimin) was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo, and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that very year. In 814, Seguin was made Duke of Vasconia, but he was deposed in 816 for failing to suppress or sympathise with a Basque rebellion. Under the Carolingians, sometimes the Counts of Bordeaux held the title concomitantly with that of Duke of Vasconia. They were meant to keep in check the Basques and defend the mouth of the Garonne from the Vikings when the latter appeared c. 844 in the region of Bordeaux. In Autumn 845, count Seguin II marched on the Vikings assaulting Bordeaux and Saintes but was captured and put to death. There are no bishops mentioned during the whole 8th century and part of the 9th in Bordeaux. From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux regained importance following the marriage of Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine with the French-speaking Count Henri Plantagenet, born in Le Mans, who became, within months of their wedding, King Henry II of England. The city flourished, primarily due to wine trade, and the cathedral of St. André was built. It was also the capital of an independent state under Edward, the Black Prince (1362–1372), but in the end, after the Battle of Castillon

Courtesy Google Maps 115229pb02

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Garonne River

The Garonne river is the most important river of southwestern France, rising in the Spanish central Pyrenees and flowing into the Atlantic ocean via the estuary called the Gironde.

Garonne River – Town Church

Vineyards along the River

Vineyards

Water Reservoir along the River

A Old Van in the Vineyards

Barns and Storage Buildings of the Vineyards

Dilapidated Vineyard Chateau

Bales of Hay

The Other Side of the River – Industrial

A Factory

Reservoir

Gas Reservoirs

Aquitane Bridge Connecting Two Sides of the River – East

Aquitane Bridge

Bridge on the West Side of Garonne River

Bordeaux in the Background

The Pont de pierre, or “Stone Bridge” , which connects the left bank of the Garonne River (cours Victor Hugo) to the right bank

The Muddy Garonne River and the Bordeaux in the Background

St Michel – Double Steeple Church

Characteristic of French Gothic Architecture

The Circus is in Town

Walk Along the Promenade

Mother and Daughter

Flower Garden Along the Promenade

Flowers in the Garden

Reds and Yellows

Passionate Red – Veins in the Leaves

Bored in Boredeaux

Water Fun in the Summer

More Fun

A Toe Dip

Adults having Fun

Too Many Cooks?

Rooftop of Porte de Cailhau stone arch

Cones and Triangles

Traditionally the bell would sound every time something important happened.

Porte de Cailhau Stone Arch

Together but Apart in a Beautiful Window

Arch of the Place de la Victoire, Porte d’Aquitaine

Portal to the Square

Men Having Fun at a Board Game

Window with Green Bricks

Multifaceted Rooftop

Aging Glory

Saint-André Cathedral – Main Church of Bordeaux

Consecrated in 1096

Saint-André Cathedral main church of Bordeaux, consecrated in 1096 situated in a large square next to the Hotel De Ville. highly decorative spires Bordeaux

Portal of Sta Andre Cathedral

Saint-André Cathedral

Saint-André Cathedral main church of Bordeaux, consecrated in 1096 situated in a large square next to the Hotel De Ville. architecture spires Gothic Bordeaux

St Andre – Buttressing

Cyclists on a Cobblestone Street

Pink Summer Bloom

Time and Cycles

Pregnant in Bordeaaux

Beggar by the Church

“Je Faim”

3 Children

Two Young Woman

The Ineviitable Cell Phone

Two Young Women on a Bike Ride

Street Cleaning at the End of the Day

Monument of the Girondins

Angel of Liberty Breaking it Chains

Dedicated to the Revolution

In the Esplanade des Quinconces. One of the tallest monuments in Bordeaux, Monument to the Girondins and the Republic. Erected at the end of the 19th century to honor the revolution. It is 43 metres high with a statue of the angel of liberty breaking its chains on top

Broken Chain of Liberty

Monument of the Girondins Angel of Liberty Breaking it Chains Dedicated to the Revolution In the Esplanade des Quinconces.

Base of the Monument

Man and Woman

Horses Snorting Water at the Base of the Monument

The Past and the Present

Monuments and the Circus

Circus near the Monument of the Girondins Esplanade des Quinconces

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