Villeneuve-sur-Lot

Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Gascon: Vilanuèva d'Olt) is a town and commune in southwestern France, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is a subprefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department. The commune was formerly named Villeneuve-d'Agen.

It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Villeneuve-sur-Lot and of 2 cantons in the department: Villeneuve-sur-Lot-1 and Villeneuve-sur-Lot-2.

History
The region where the city is was first populated by the Romans. In the 11th century, a Benedictine abbey was constructed near where is the city now. There was a small village of potters and farmers around the abbey. Between 1254 and 1263, Alphonse of Poitiers had a bastide built. He also gave the bastide city rights. The bastide has a rectangular look, with a central square.

Because of its privileged geographical situation on the river lot, the city played an important role in wars of the region:
 In the Hundred Years' War
 In the Huguenot wars
 In the Fronde, a civil war in France.

Geography
The commune has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
+ Villeneuve-sur-Lot and its neighboring communes 350px|Map of the commune of Villeneuve-sur-Lot

Villeneuve-sur-Lot is surrounded by the communes Lédat, Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe, La Sauvetat-sur-Lède, Monflanquin, Savignac-sur-Leyze, Saint-Aubin, Trentels, Saint-Sylvestre-sur-Lot, Penne-d'Agenais, Hautefage-la-Tour, Pujols and Bias.

The Lot river flows through the city of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. The Lède river, a tributary of the Lot, flows through the northern part of the commune.

Climate
The climate of Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.

Population
The inhabitants of Villeneuve-sur-Lot are known, in French, as Villeneuvois (women: Villeneuvoises).

With a population of 23,263, Villeneuve-sur-Lot has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Villeneuve-sur-Lot

Administration
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is a subprefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department since 1800. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Villeneuve-sur-Lot and the administrative centre () of 2 cantons:
 Villeneuve-sur-Lot-1, formed with a part of Villeneuve-sur-Lot-Nord and the commune Lédat, with 16,376 inhabitants (2014).
 Villeneuve-sur-Lot-2, formed with a part of Villeneuve-sur-Lot-Sud and the communes Bias, Hautefage-la-Tour, Pujols, Saint-Antoine-de-Ficalba and Sainte-Colombe-de-Villeneuve, with 17,055 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality Grand Villeneuvois ().

 Twin towns 
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is twinned with:
  Ávila, Castile and León, Spain
  Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire
  Neustadt bei Coburg, Germany
  San Donà di Piave, Veneto, Italy
  Troon, Scotland

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Villeneuve-sur-Lot
 Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department

References

Other websites

 Ville de Villeneuve-sur-Lot - Official site 
 Departamental Council of Lot-et-Garonne 
 Prefecture official website  
 Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine 

Category:Bastides
Category:Subprefectures in France
Category:Communes in Lot-et-Garonne