Bordeaux

Bordeaux (Burdigala of the Romans), one of the finest commercial cities of France, is the capital of the department of Gironde and is situated on the left bank of the Garonne in an extensive plain, comprising the district of Medoc, celebrated for its red wines. The river, which is crossed by a magnificent stone bridge of seventeen arches, is lined with quays, and at the northern end of the town is a dock covering an area of 25 acres. Among the ecclesiastical buildings the principal are St. Andre, St. Michel, St. Croix, St. Paul, and the church of the College Royal, where is Montaigne's tomb, whose statue with Montesquieu's adorns the principal square, Place de Quinconces. Bordeaux is the seat of an archbishopric, and its intellectual activity is shown by such institutions as its Academy of Science and Literature, theological, medical, art, and navigation schools, picture gallery, museum, and public library: and its theatre, the Grand, is one of the finest in France. Its chief manufactures are brandy, sugar, liqueurs, vinegar, calico printing, woollens, earthenware, etc. In 1152 Bordeaux passed under English rule, through the marriage of Eleanor of Guienne to Henry of Normandy, afterwards Henry II., being returned to France three centuries later. In 1871, during the Franco-German war, the first sittings of the National Assembly were held at Bordeaux in the Grand Theatre. In Bordeaux were born Ausonius the poet, Richard II., and Rosa Bonheur.