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Libourne (Municipality, Gironde, France)

Flag of Libourne - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 7 May 2022

Presentation of Libourne
Flag of Libourne
Former flag of Libourne

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Presentation of Libourne

Libourne (24,557 inhabitants in 2021; 2,063 ha) is a commune in the Gironde department and a sub-prefecture of the department.

At the time of its foundation, the vocation of Libourne was that of a maritime port for the wine trade and a river port for the timber trade, the ultimate destination for barges descending the river Dordogne loaded, among other things, with hazel wood intended for vineyards. The bastide of Libourne, at the confluence of the Dordogne and the Isle rivers, was designed in 1268-1270 to become the natural outlet for the wines of the Dordogne valley – wines of Saint -Émilion, Bergerac, etc. – exported from the end of the 13th century to England. The kings of England granted the city of Libourne, as they had done for Bordeaux, a “custom” exempting the export of these wines from customs duties. The great period of this traffic is between 1305 and 1336. For the record, it is said that the paving of the port is made of English stone transported in the boats which came to collect wine. Indeed, these could not come from England empty, they had to be ballasted so that they could sail on the Atlantic.
By virtue of its adhesion, in 1379, to the hypothetical Bordeaux alliance for defense against French troops, the fortified town of Libourne would have been qualified as the goddaughter of Bordeaux, an alliance which would have favored numerous commercial exchanges between the two towns. The existence of this alliance is now disputed, no medieval document proving its existence. Only an agreement would have been signed between Bordeaux and Bourg, in July 1379, while the so-called league would be a later invention of the 17th century, resulting from a rereading from memory of the relations between the cities concerned. In order to reward her for her "loyalty" (more to attach her definitively, Libourne having been more loyal to the English than to the French during the Hundred Years' War) Louis XI further confirmed the privileges of Libourne by letters patent in October 1461 and as well in June 1472 following the death of the Duke of Guyenne, his brother.

Libourne was affected by the revolt of the pitauds in 1548: in 1541, the gabelle was imposed on Saintonge and Angoumois, provinces which did not pay this tax on salt. The revolt broke out near Angoulême, and Libourne was taken by the rebels during the summer. During the Fronde wars (1648 to 1652), Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette, Duke of Épernon, governor of Guyenne, had Libourne fortified with the aim of weakening Bordeaux, whose trade depended on two rivers, the Garonne but also the Dordogne. The city was again besieged by French troops in 1652. Trade in the port of Libourne, like that of Bordeaux, suffered from the continental blockade operated during the War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697) by the Maritime Powers (England, United Provinces, Empire and Spain). For wine, they appealed more than before to Portugal and Spain. At the time of Tourny, intendant of Guyenne in the middle of the 18th century, Libourne acquired alleys, fountains, washhouses and improved its quays and ports.

From 1989 to 2011, the mayor of the commune was Gilbert Mitterrand, son of the President of the French Republic.

Olivier Touzeau, 7 May 2022

Flag of Libourne

A white flag with the logo in blue can be observed in use on the town hall: photo (2011).

Olivier Touzeau, 7 May 2022

Former flag of Libourne

Former flag of Libourne - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 7 May 2022

The former flag of Libourne was white with the coat of arms, according to French vexillologist Pascal Vagnat’s website (source quoted: Patrice de la Condamine) [website].
I put on my drawing the coat of arms in use in the commune, with crown, wreath and listel. The drawing on Pascal Vagnat’s website show only the shield on the flag’s white field.

The coat of arms of Libourne is blazoned:
Azure, a vessel Argent with furled sails sailing on waves of the same issuing from the base, the three masts supporting each a fleur-de-lis Or, the waves charged with a crescent Sable.
The motto « INSULA LIBURNIUM DURANIUS » means: Libourne between Isle river and Dordogne.

Olivier Touzeau, 7 May 2022