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Aiguillon ... a stalk of history
The confluence of the Lot and the Garonne made of Aiguillon a place looked for by the different populations since the high Antiquity. Without speaking about tribes of the neolithic age which occupied the hillside of the Pech de Bère, the Gauls lived in these banks, as show of it the ovens of potter and numerous vestiges found by the archaeologists.
Placed on the North-south axis and Atlantique-Méditerranée, the site of Aiguillon lent himself not only to the environment but to the streams of population: it is the reason for which the Gauls of this part of the country welcomed without too much contrariety, it seems, the Roman invasion.
The confluence of the Lot and the Garonne forming an acute angle, the Roman gave it the name of Aculeum (which became Aiguillon).
It was a height-place of the gallo-Roman civilization, as show of it numerous buildings still existing: Tourasse, and wall in gallo-Roman device of Saint-Côme; and especially the monumental arches which overhangs the chateau Lunac, which are the highest gallo-Roman monuments of all Aquitaine.
In the Middle Age, the said church Saint Félix de Roscasa, ownership of the abbey of Saint-Sever, seems to have established the parochial church matrix. At the beginning of the 14th century, two castrated neighbours are attested, that of Lunac mentioned from 1259 and that of Fossat in 1271, having each a subordinate village and an appropriate jurisdiction.
In 1280, the co-Lords of Lunac conclude a contract of paréage with the duke of Aquitaine to establish a bastide; the community receives its customs in 1296. The city is unified under the ascendancy of Fossat, in a surrounding wall of 250 x 160 metres before 1346, a date of the defeat of the seat of the city by the duke of Normandy.
Aiguillon indeed became an important English fortified town in the time of the One hundred years war, it pushed away the assaults of the French royal troops during a seat which lasted six months.
During this war, Aiguillon was equipped with bulwarks among the most redoubtable of all the country: what allowed it to resist to this seat of several months ( 1345 ), of which Froissart was made the echo in its Memories, and during which, for the first time in the History of France, artillery were used.
Set up as duchy-pairie by Richelieu, the earth of Aiguillon thus becomes duchy and the dukes of Aiguillon became famous during the 18th century. Emmanuel-Armand was a Minister of Louis XV; disgracred in the succession of Louis XVI, he withdrew in Aiguillon where he built the magnificent castle which we still see, and where he led, with evenings of reception, concerts, théatre, a true life of Court which came to an end in the Revolution. His son, Armand-Désiré, entered in his turn the history by making vote at night of August 4th, 1789, the abolition of the privileges.
Aiguillon ..... some curiosities
Of passage with Aiguillon, you should not nearly discover
- Its medieval district,
- Its streets and its old houses with half-timberings,
- The Castle of Lunac (XIIth century),
- The Castle of the Dukes which shelters the Stendhal secondary school,
- The Church Saint Félix and the Church of Saint-Côme, the masterpiece of the XIIth century,
- The Raoul Dastrac museum in the ancient Chapel of the Lot,
- The Laundry of Bernet on the municipality free of Muneau
For any info:http://www.tourisme.fr/office-de-tourisme/aiguillon.htm
AIGUILLON SYNDICAT D'INITIATIVE du Confluent
Reception - Information Lot-et-Garonne (47) - Aquitaine
Place du 14 juillet, 47190 AIGUILLON
tél. 05.53.79.62.58
fax : 05.53.84.41.17
emaill : info.tourisme@ville-aiguillon.fr
Opened all year long from Monday till Saturday i
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