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 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**

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 bar:1990 at: 22782 fontsize:S text: 22,782 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:1999 at: 22782 fontsize:S text: 22,782 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2006 at: 23466 fontsize:S text: 23,466 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2014 at: 23263 fontsize:S text: 23,263 shift:(-15,5)

## 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

File:Villeneuve-sur-Lot.JPG|View from the left side of the Lot
File:Porte de Pujols.JPG|*Porte de Pujols*
File:Pont des Cieutat.JPG|*Pont des Cieutat* over the Lot
File:Église Sainte-Catherine de Villeneuve-sur-Lot 1.JPG|*Sainte-Catherine* church

## 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