Brive | Things to See and Do in Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde (known as Brive) is a busy market town on Correze river the in the Correze department which has a pretty old town. It is an important transport hub for travelers with rails links to many other parts of France.
History | Brive-la-Gaillarde
Inhabitants first settled around the 1st century, and the city really established around the 5th century, developing around a church dedicated to Saint-Martin-l’Espagnol.
During the 12th century walls were built around the city and during the Hundred Years’ War a second wall was built. These fortifications no longer exist and are now replaced by boulevards.
The commune was named “Brive” until 1919, when it was renamed “Brive-la-Gaillarde”. The word “Gaillarde” probably stands for bravery or strength in the city’s name, but it may also refer to the city’s walls.
During World War II, Brive-la-Gaillarde was a regional capital of the Resistance, acting as a seat of several clandestine information networks and several of the principal resistance movements, including the Armée Secrète Secret Army and the Mouvements Unis de la Résistance United Movements of the Resistance.
Brive-la-Gaillarde was the first city of Occupied France to liberate itself by its own means, on 15 August 1944. For this, the city received the “Croix de guerre 1939-1945” a prestigious military decoration.
Things to See and Do in Brive
Town Centre
The town has an attractive old town centre build from honey coloured stone
St Martins Church
St-Martin Chruch is built in a Romanesque in style, though only the transept, apse and a few carved capitals survive from that era.
Place du Général-de-Gaulle
The old town square is surrounded by a number of turreted and towered houses, some dating back to the 13th century.
Hôtel de Labenche
Hotel de Labenche is a 16th century house on boulevard Jules-Ferry which now houses the town’s archeological finds as well as a collection of 16th century tapestries.