Gironde

Gironde is a département in the southwest of France named after the Gironde Estuary.

History

Gironde was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascogne.

From 1793 to 1795, the name was changed to Bec-d'Ambès to avoid the association with the revolutionary party, the Girondins.

Geography

Gironde is part of the current region of Aquitaine and is surrounded by the départements of Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, and Charente-Maritime and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. With 10,000 km², Gironde is the largestdepartment of metropolitan France.

See also

*Cantons of the Gironde département
*Communes of the Gironde département
*Arrondissements of the Gironde département

External links

*Conseil Général website (in French)
*Prefecture website (in French)
*http://www.tourisme-gironde.cg33.fr/ (in French)