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Top: Panorama view of Saint-Front Cathedral in Trélissac Hills, Middle left: Statue of Thomas-Robert Bugeaud in Bugeaud Square, Middle right: Barbadeau Castle (Le château de Barbadeau), Bottom left: Isle River and Saint Georges Bridge (Pont Saint Georges), Bottom right: The tower of Vésone (La tour de Vésone)
The name Périgueux comes from Petrocorii, a Latinization of Celtic words meaning "the four tribes" – the Gallic people that held the area before the Roman conquest. Périgueux was their capital city. In 200 BC, the Petrocorii came from the north and settled at Périgueux and established an encampment at La Boissière. After the Roman invasion, they left this post and established themselves on the plain of L'Isle, and the town of Vesunna was created. This Roman city was eventually embellished with amenities such as temples, baths, amphitheatres, and a forum. At the end of the third century AD, the Roman city was surrounded by ramparts, and the town took the name of Civitas Petrocoriorum.
In the 10th century, Le Puy-Saint-Front was constructed around an abbey next to the old Gallo-Roman city. It was organised into a municipality around 1182.
During the year 1940, many Jews from Alsace and Alsatians were evacuated to Périgueux.
In 2018, 30,060 people lived in the town, while its metropolitan area had a population of 113,384.[3]
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1793
9,898
—
1800
5,733
−7.50%
1806
6,306
+1.60%
1821
8,452
+1.97%
1831
8,956
+0.58%
1836
11,576
+5.27%
1841
12,187
+1.03%
1846
11,455
−1.23%
1851
13,547
+3.41%
1856
16,291
+3.76%
1861
19,140
+3.28%
1866
19,633
+0.51%
1872
19,956
+0.27%
1876
24,169
+4.91%
1881
25,969
+1.45%
1886
29,611
+2.66%
1891
31,439
+1.21%
1896
31,313
−0.08%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1901
31,976
+0.42%
1906
31,361
−0.39%
1911
33,548
+1.36%
1921
33,144
−0.12%
1926
33,389
+0.15%
1931
33,988
+0.36%
1936
37,615
+2.05%
1946
40,865
+0.83%
1954
40,785
−0.02%
1962
38,529
−0.71%
1968
37,450
−0.47%
1975
35,120
−0.91%
1982
32,916
−0.92%
1990
30,280
−1.04%
1999
30,193
−0.03%
2007
29,416
−0.33%
2012
29,906
+0.33%
2017
29,966
+0.04%
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Sights include: the remains of a Roman amphitheatre (known locally as the arènes romaines) the centre of which has been turned into a green park with a water fountain; the remains of a temple of the Gallic goddess "Vesunna"; and a luxurious Roman villa, called the "Domus of Vesunna", built around a garden courtyard surrounded by a colonnaded peristyle now housed in the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum.
Cathedral of St FrontThe bell tower of St Front's cathedralSt Front's cathedral, inside
The cathedral of St Front was built after 1120 and restored in the 19th century.
The history of the church of St Front of Périgueux has given rise to numerous discussions between archaeologists. Félix de Verneihl claims that St Front's was a copy of St Mark's Basilica in Venice; Quicherat, that it was copied from the church of the Holy Apostles of Constantinople. M. Brutails is of the opinion that even if the style of St Front's reveals an imitation of Oriental art, the construction differs altogether from Byzantine methods. The dates 984–1047, often given for the erection of St Front's, he considers too early; he thinks that the present church of St Front was built about 1120–1173, in imitation of a foreign monument by a native local school of architecture which erected the other domed buildings in the south-west of France.
The local architect, Paul Abadie (1812–1884), was responsible for radical changes to St Front's which are no longer appreciated by architects or local residents who prefer the purer Romanesque church of Saint-Étienne de la Cité, the former Cathedral of Périgueux.
Périgueux has an oceanic climate (KöppenCfb) with warm to hot summers combined with cool to mild winters. Périgueux has a mild climate for its latitude and inland position due to the significant Gulf Stream influence on the Bay of Biscay to its west. The resulting maritime air warms winters, while at the same time it is far enough inland to cause relativity warm summers on average.
Climate data for Périgueux (1981–2010 normals; extremes 1973–2017)
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