Pessac (French pronunciation: [pɛsak] ⓘ; Occitan: Peçac) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a member of the metropolis of Bordeaux, being the second-largest suburb of Bordeaux and located just southwest of it. Pessac is also home to Bordeaux Montaigne University and the Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux.
Pessac | |
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 Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Pessac  | |
  Pessac  Pessac | |
| Coordinates: 44°48′24″N 0°37′52″W / 44.8067°N 0.6311°W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Gironde |
| Arrondissement | Bordeaux |
| Canton | Pessac-1 and 2 |
| Intercommunality | Bordeaux Métropole |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Franck Raynal[1] |
| Area 1 | 38.82 km2 (14.99 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 66,760 |
| • Density | 1,700/km2 (4,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 33318 /33600 |
| Elevation | 12–56 m (39–184 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
Pessac is located in the south of the Bordeaux metro area and is surrounded by Bordeaux, Talence, Gradignan, Canéjan, Cestas, Saint-Jean-d'Illac and Mérignac.
The western part of the commune is part of the Landes de Bordeaux.
History
Early in World War II (June 22, 1940), the town was the scene of a quadruple execution on the firing range of Verthamon. Four communists militants, one of whom, Roger Rambaud, was not yet 17, were among the escapees from the military prison in Paris, were killed in the utmost secrecy by soldiers of the Third Republic. This case, classified "Secret Defense" for 70 years, has recently been revealed by the historian Jacky Tronel in the history magazine Arkheia.[3]
Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods of Pessac :[4]
- Verthamon
- Les échoppes
- Brivazac - Candau
- Noës
- Pessac-bourg
- Casino
- Sardine
- Chiquet
- Compostelle - La Paillère
- Le Monteil
- CCLAPS - La Chataigneraie
- Saige - Formanoir
- 3 M (Macédo, Mirante, Monbalon)
- France - L'Alouette
- Cap de Bos
- Magonty - Romainville
- Toctoucau
Heritage
Wineries
Located on the Pessac-Léognan appellation, there are several wineries, including the oldest of the Bordeaux wine regions, château Haut-Brion.
Cité Frugès
Built by Le Corbusier in 1926, the district is an experimental housing for workers. This is one of the 17 architectural works of Le Corbusier listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016.[5]
Casino district
Quarter built in the 1900s with a resort city architecture.
Villa Girofla
Villa Mimosa
Villa Tour
Villa Booz
Villa Radieuse
Others
Town hall
Church of Saint Martin
Music school
Moulin de Noès
Castel du bourg, private house
Population
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| Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE (1968-2017)[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education
9 Kindergartens
- École maternelle Alouette
- École maternelle Cap de Bos
- École maternelle François Mauriac
- École maternelle Joliot-Curie
- École maternelle Le Colombier
- École maternelle Le Monteil
- École maternelle Le Pontet
- École maternelle Montesquieu
- École maternelle Pape Clément
15 Grade schools
- École primaire Cap de Bos
- École primaire Édouard Herriot
- École primaire Jacques Cartier
- École primaire Joliot-Curie
- École primaire Montesquieu
- École primaire Pierre Castaing
- École primaire Toctoucau
- École Aristide Briand
- École de Magonty
- École Georges Leygues
- École Jean Cordier
- École Jeanne d'Arc Assomption
- École Jules Ferry
- École Roland Dorgelès
- École Saint Exupéry
5 Middle schools
- Collège Alouette[8]
- Collège François Mitterrand (Ladonne)
- Collège Gérard Philipe[9]
- Collège Pessac (Noès)[10]
- Collège Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc Assomption[11]
3 High schools
- Lycée Pape-Clément:[12] financed by the French government, "Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine" and "Bordeaux Métropole"; was presented as the high school of the year 2000. It was inaugurated on 9 July 1987 by Jacques Chirac, then Prime Minister. Its initial capacity was 1,100 students including 900 "demi-pensionnaires". It was expanded in 1990 and now holds 1,475 students.
- Lycée Sans Frontière
- Lycée professionnel Philadelphe de Gerde[13]
Transportation
Pessac has a railway station on the westbound line from Bordeaux, Gare de Pessac. Pessac is also served by the urban transport network of the Bordeaux agglomeration, Transports Bordeaux Métropole (TBM).
Pessac is located on line B of the Tramway de Bordeaux.
Personalities
- 1929: Yvette Roudy, socialist minister
- 1938: Jean Eustache, film actor and director (d. 1981)
- 1953: Patrice Brun (historian)
- 1971: Thierry Poulain-Rehm, university
- 1979: Myriam Borg-Korfanty, handball player
- 1980: (18 August) Julien Lescarret, matador
Twin towns - sister cities
Pessac is twinned with:[14]
Banfora, Burkina Faso
Burgos, Spain
Galați, Romania
Göppingen, Germany
Viana do Castelo, Portugal
See also
- Château Haut-Brion
- Pessac-Léognan, wine appellation
- Communes of the Gironde department
- Operation Josephine B, a 1941 attack on an electricity substation.
References
External links
