Port of the Moon, Bordeaux
Overview
Bordeaux, also know as Port of the Moon, is a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, noted for its rich architectural and cultural heritage.
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Port of the Moon, Bordeaux
Named after the crescent shape of the Garonne River, the port city of Bordeaux has been a trading mecca for thousands of years. Some of the first inhabitants may have included a Celtic tribe, and, later in 56 B.C., Bordeaux, then known as Burdigala, was an important center of commerce for the Romans. The ruins of a large Roman amphitheater, believed to seat some 17,000 people, still exist in the city today. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the area changed hands many times. England ruled the area from 1154 to 1453, after Eleanor of Aquitaine married a count who would later become King Henry II of England. The area finally came under French control when Louis XIV declared it to be part of France in 1462.
Because of its proximity to the Garonne River and the Atlantic Ocean, Bordeaux flourished as a center of trade and commerce, and incidentally as a center of cultural exchange. Bordeaux exported millions of barrels of the region’s famous wine, which resulted in the expansion and prosperity of the city. Linked with England and the Low Countries (what is now Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands), and functioning as an important route to Spain, Bordeaux was heavily influenced by the flow of people, values and ideas from other parts of the world.
The port city flourished during the 18th century, when urban planners and architects constructed nearly 5,000 classical and neoclassical buildings. These stone monuments of the Enlightenment are distributed throughout the city. Bordeaux also features other historic buildings, such as Saint-Ándre Cathedral, which was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096, and the Gothic basilica of Saint-Michel, dating from the 1400s.
The city has undergone a massive urban renewal project, beginning in 2000, to help preserve and restore the city’s magnificent architecture and promote Bordeaux’s cultural significance.
