Mérignac, Gironde
Encyclopedia
Mérignac is a commune
in the Gironde
department in Aquitaine
in southwestern France
.
It is the largest suburb
of the city of Bordeaux
and is adjacent to it on the west. It is a member of the metropolitan Urban Community of Bordeaux
.
Mérignac is the site of Bordeaux International Airport.
rustica
(countryside villa) that was the origin of the today town.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
department in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
in southwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
It is the largest suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of the city of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and is adjacent to it on the west. It is a member of the metropolitan Urban Community of Bordeaux
Urban Community of Bordeaux
The Urban Community of Bordeaux , also known by its French initials CUB, is the intercommunal structure gathering the city of Bordeaux and some of its suburbs....
.
Mérignac is the site of Bordeaux International Airport.
Etymology
The name Mérignac derives from the gallo-roman word Matriniacus, name of a villaVilla
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
(countryside villa) that was the origin of the today town.
Population
Sights
- Tour de Veyrines : Veyrines Dungeon.
- Château Bourran : Bourran Castle
- Château Le Burck : Le Burck Castle
- Château aka Maison Noble du Parc or d'Espagne : Parc Castle or Spain Castle
- Fontaine d'Arlac : Arlac Fountain
- Immeuble Gillet : Gillet Building
- La glacière : the icehouse
- La veille église : the old roman church
- Maison carrée d'Arlac : Arlac squarred house
Parks and gardens
- Parc de Bourran :
- Bois du Burck : Burck wood
- Parc de Mérignac :
- Parc Saint-Exupéry :
- Parc du Vivier :