Agen 521439 224509637 2008-07-09T04:34:37Z VolkovBot 3035831 robot Adding: [[fi:Agen]] {{French commune |nomcommune=Agen |image=[[Image:Duhauron1877.jpg|250px]] |caption=Agen in 1877 by [[Louis Ducos du Hauron]]. |région=[[Aquitaine]] |département=[[Lot-et-Garonne]] |arrondissement=Agen |canton= |insee=47001 |cp=47000 |maire=Alain Veyret |mandat=2001-2008 |intercomm=Agen |longitude=0.621153 |latitude=44.204931 |alt moy=48 m |alt mini=37 |alt maxi=162 m |hectares=1149 |km²=11.49 |sans=30,170 |date-sans=1999 |dens=2626 |date-dens=1999 }} {{For|the Agen meteorite of 1814|Meteorite falls}} '''Agen''' ({{IPA2|aʒɛ̃}}) is a [[communes of France|commune]] in the [[Lot-et-Garonne]] [[Departments of France|department]] in the [[Aquitaine]] [[regions of France|region]] in southwestern [[France]]. It lies on the river [[Garonne]] 84 miles southeast of [[Bordeaux]]. It is the [[Prefectures in France|prefecture]] of the department. ==Economy== The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average. Major employers include UPSA, the pharmaceutical factory. ==Sights== The old centre of town contains a number of medieval buildings. The [[12th century]] [[Agen Cathedral]], dedicated to [[Caprasius of Agen|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]]. The Saint Hilaire church, dedicated to the theme of the Holy Trinity which the Saint in question did a lot to defend, is noteable for its unusual statues in front of the Church - Moses on the right, and St Peter on the left. The Fine Arts museum, Musée des Beaux Arts contains artefacts furniture and sculptures from prehistoric times onwards. The painting galleries contain several hundred works including several by Goya, and others by Bonnard, Seurat... The collection also contains a large number of works by artists who lived locally. The museum is made up of twenty or so rooms. ==Entertainment== The municipal theatre "Théâtre du Courneau" presents theatre, and occasionally classical concerts. The smaller "Théâtre du jour" has a resident theatre company presenting a variety of recent or older plays (Shakespeare, Becket, as well as lesser known playwrights. There are two cinemas, one a commercial multiscreened affair, the other an arts cinema run by a voluntary organization. The latter organizes film festivals every year. ==Sport== Rugby is extremely popular in the town, and the SUA, the local team, is enthusiastically supported. The town also serves as the base for the [[Team Lot-et-Garonne]] cycling team. ==Press== For many decade "Le petit bleu" has been the daily newspaper, with stories of local or national interest. ==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. Fast trains to Paris take four hours and ten minutes. It has a very small airport mostly used for business flights and leisure flying. == Diocese == {{main|Diocese of Agen}} 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 (fruit)|prune]]", a local produce sold as a sweet (stuffed with prune purée) or as an after-dinner delight (prunes soaked in [[Armagnac (drink)|Armagnac]] - a type of brandy). Every September, the Prune festival organizes rock concerts, circuses and prune tasting. ===Births=== Agen was the birthplace of: * [[Alain Aspect]] (born [[1947]]), physicist * [[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 of France|marshal]] * [[Bernard Germain Étienne comte de La Ville-sur-Illon La Cépède]] ([[1756]]-[[1825]]), [[natural history|naturalist]] * [[Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent]] ([[1780]]-[[1846]]), naturalist * [[Jacques Jasmin]] ([[1798]]-[[1864]]), [[Provençal language|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 [[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|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]] (born [[1976]]), actor ===Twin towns=== Agen is twinned with: * [[Tuapse]], [[Russia]] * [[Dinslaken]], [[Germany]] * [[Llanelli]], [[Wales]] * [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], [[Spain]] * [[Corpus Christi]], [[USA]], [[Texas]] ==See also== * [[St Faith]] * [[SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne]], a [[France|French]] [[rugby union]] club based in Agen * [[Agenais]], or ''Agenois'', a [[provinces of France|former province]] of France ==Sources and external links== {{commonscat|Agen}} * [http://www.ville-agen.fr/ site de la ville] * [http://www.ot-agen.org/ office de tourisme] * [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01209b.htm Diocese of Agen] - [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] article {{Préfectures of départements of France}} {{Lot-et-Garonne communes}} [[Category:Communes of Lot-et-Garonne]] [[Category:Prefectures in France]] [[ar:أجان]] [[br:Agen]] [[bg:Ажан]] [[ca:Agen]] [[ceb:Agen]] [[cs:Agen]] [[cy:Agen]] [[da:Agen]] [[de:Agen]] [[es:Agen]] [[eo:Agen]] [[fr:Agen]] [[gl:Agen]] [[id:Agen (kota)]] [[it:Agen]] [[la:Aginnum]] [[nl:Agen]] [[ja:アジャン]] [[nn:Agen]] [[oc:Agen]] [[pl:Agen]] [[pt:Agen]] [[ro:Agen]] [[ru:Ажен]] [[simple:Agen]] [[sk:Agen]] [[sl:Agen]] [[sr:Ажан (Лот и Гарона)]] [[fi:Agen]] [[sv:Agen]] [[vi:Agen]] [[vo:Agen]] [[zh:阿让]]