Birth of a new French department: the Dordogne

The Dordogne department was created by official decree on January 26th, 1790 (six months after the French Revolution). Its only real industry at the time was charcoal-fired metallurgy, for which the north of the department contained the essential elements: iron deposits, wood, and readily available manpower from the agricultural workers who were unemployed during the winter. In 1859, there were 40 ironworks, but none was able to survive the opening up of the markets in 1860. The disappearance of this industry, and then the destruction of the vines by the phylloxera aphis (which nearly killed off the entire French wine industry), were the main causes of a demographic and economic decline which could not be overcome even by the department’s large paperworks, nor by such light industries as glassware, pottery and shoe manufacture.

From the 1980s, the restoration of economic health stemmed firstly from stock-farming (cattle, geese and ducks) and from agriculture, notably cereals, oilseeds, and tobacco (for which the Dordogne is the main producer in France). To these should be added: truffles (nearly one-third of the total national output), walnuts, strawberries (second largest producer nationally), and wine (Bergerac, Monbazillac, Pécharmant, Montravel, etc), together with plums, chestnuts, cep mushrooms, and finally tourism, which now accounts for 25% of the department’s economy. The Dordogne is France’s third largest department (covering 9,060 sq.km.), but the first of them all for countryside tourism.
Among its many attractions are its world-famed prehistoric sites (Lascaux, Cap Blanc, etc), along with more châteaux and manor-houses than any other French department (1,001 in all, it’s said) ; there are also some widely renowned museums (the National Museum of Prehistory at Les Eyzies, the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum at Périgueux). In addition, its celebrated annual markets for cep mushrooms, truffles and foie gras are emblems of a gastronomic fame which has led to the creation of learning holidays specifically devoted to fine cuisine and wines.
Finally, it is no longer possible to speak of the Dordogne without mentioning the cinema. The many French films which have been shot on location there include Les Misérables, La Fille d’Artagnan, Les Visiteurs II, Jeanne d’Arc, Jacquou le Croquant and the TV series La Rivière Espérance (now a familiar name for the River Dordogne). The department is the fourth favourite film location site in France, after Paris, the Riviera and Rhône-Alpes, and Sarlat’s annual Film Festival has acquired ever-increasing importance.

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