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Limousin

Coordinates: 45°41′17″N 1°37′14″E / 45.68795°N 1.620483°E / 45.68795; 1.620483
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Limousin (disambiguation).
Limousin
Lemosin (Occitan)
Region of France
Flag of Limousin
Flag
Coat of arms of Limousin
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 45°41′17″N 1°37′14″E / 45.68795°N 1.620483°E / 45.68795; 1.620483
Country France
Dissolved2016-01-01
PrefectureLimoges
Departments
3
Government
 • PresidentGérard Vandenbroucke (PS)
Area
INSEE
 • Total
16,942 km2 (6,541 sq mi)
Population
 (2010-01-01)[1]
 • Total
742,770
 • Density44/km2 (110/sq mi)
GDP
[2]
 • Total€20.735 billion (2022)
 • Per capita€28,300 (2022)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-L
NUTS RegionFR6
Website(in French)cr-limousin.fr

Limousin (French pronunciation: [limuzɛ̃] ⓘ; Occitan: Lemosin [lemuˈzi]) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.[3] It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne.

Situated mostly in the west side of south-central French Massif Central, Limousin had (in 2010) 742,770 inhabitants[1] spread out on nearly 17,000 km2 (6,600 square miles), making it the least populated region of metropolitan France.

Forming part of the southwest of the country, Limousin was bordered by the regions of Centre-Val de Loire to the north, Auvergne to the east, Midi-Pyrénées to the south, Aquitaine to the southwest, and Poitou-Charentes to the west. Limousin was also part of the larger historical Occitania region.

Population

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The population of Limousin was aging and, until 1999, was declining. The department of Creuse had the oldest population of any in France. Between 1999 and 2004 the population of Limousin increased slightly, reversing a decline for the first time in decades.[4]

Major communities

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Limoges, half-timbered house by the bridge Saint Martial
Small river in Creuse, Limousin

History

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Main article: History of Limousin

Limousin was one of the traditional provinces of France. Its name derived from that of a Celtic tribe, the Lemovices, who had their capital at Saint-Denis-des-Murs and whose main sanctuary in 2004 was found in Tintignac, a site which became a major site for Celtic studies thanks to unique objects which were found – such as the carnyces, unique in the whole Celtic world.[5]

Viscount Aimar V of Limoges (c. 1135 – c. 1199) was a notable ruler of the region.

Language

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Until the 1970s, Occitan was the primary language of rural areas. There remained several different Occitan dialects in use in Limousin, although their use was rapidly declining. These were:

Transport

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  • The word limousine is derived from the name of the region. A particular type of carriage hood or roof physically resembled the raised hood of the cloak worn by the shepherds there.

Notable residents

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From Corrèze

[edit]
Main article: Corrèze § People
See also: Category:People from Corrèze

From Creuse

[edit]
Main article: Creuse § Personalities
See also: Category:People from Creuse

From Haute-Vienne

[edit]
Main article: Haute-Vienne § Notable_people
See also: Category:People from Haute-Vienne

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b INSEE, 2010 census results
  2. ^ "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat". Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ Loi n° 2015-29 du 16 janvier 2015 relative à la délimitation des régions, aux élections régionales et départementales et modifiant le calendrier électoral (in French)
  4. ^ Yann Leurs, Recensement : rebond démographique confirmé, INSEE, 2006, see online
  5. ^ "Official website of Tintignac-Naves". Archived from the original on 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
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