Agen

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Agen (aʒɛ̃) is a town and commune located in the Aquitaine région in southern France, on the river Garonne, 84 miles southeast of Bordeaux. It is the préfecture of the Lot-et-Garonne département.

Sights

The 12th century cathedral of Agen, St. Caprais, dedicated to Saint Caprasius, is one of the barest handful of large churches in France with a double nave; the curious and impractical plan may be a regional trait, since one of the others is the Church of the Jacobins in relatively nearby Toulouse.

Transportation

Agen is connected by the A62 motorway to both Toulouse and Bordeaux. By train it is around an hour from Toulouse, and around an hour from Bordeaux. It has a very small airport mostly used for business flights and leisure flying.

Diocese

Agen is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese that comprises the Département of Lot and Garonne. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bordeaux.

Miscellaneous

Agen is the "capital of the prune", a local produce sold as a sweet (stuffed with prune purée) or as an after-dinner delight (prunes soaked in Armagnac - a type of brandy).

Births

Agen was the birthplace of:

• Bernard Palissy (c. 1510-1590), potter - according to some accounts, he may have been born in Saintes
• Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609), scholar
• Pierre Dupuy (1582-1651), scholar
• Godefroi, Comte d'Estrades (1607-1686), diplomatist and marshal
• Bernard Germain Étienne comte de La Ville-sur-Illon La Cépède (1756-1825), naturalist
• Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (1780-1846), naturalist
• Jacques Jasmin (1798-1864), Provençal poet
• Joseph Chaumié (1849-1919), politician
• Michel Serres (born 1930), philosopher and author
• Jacques Sadoul (born 1934), author
• Jean Cruguet (born 1939), jockey who won the U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
• Francis Cabrel (born 1953), singer-songwriter and guitarist
• Bernard Campan (born 1958), actor and film director
• Stéphane Rideau (born1976) July 25, 1976, actor

Twin towns

Agen is twinned with:

• Touapse, Russia
• Dinslaken, Germany
• Llanelli, Wales
• Toledo, Spain
• Corpus Christi, USA, Texas

See also

• St Faith
• SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne, a French rugby union club based in Agen
• Agenais, or Agenois, a former province of France

Sources and external links

• site de la ville
• office de tourisme
• Diocese of Agen - Catholic Encyclopedia article

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Last updated on Friday March 14, 2008 at 01:48:41 PDT (GMT -0700)
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