Region of France
Limousin
(
French pronunciation:
[limuz??]
ⓘ
;
Occitan
:
Lemosin
[lemu?zi]
) 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
:
Correze
,
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 km
2
(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-Pyrenees
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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]
History
[
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]
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 Correze
[
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]
From Creuse
[
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]
From Haute-Vienne
[
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]
See also
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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