| Capital of Lot-et-Garonne dept., SW France, on the
Garonne River, in Guienne. It
is an agricultural marketplace in the center of a fruit-growing region and an industrial
center where food products, clothing, agricultural machinery, bicycles, tiles, drugs,
furniture, and musical instruments are manufactured.
Originally
a Gallic settlement, Agen was a crossroads in Roman times. It became the capital of the
county of Agenois under the Carolingians. An episcopal see from the 10th cent., it
passed (1154) to England with the rest of Aquitaine.
It was reconquered in the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) and incorporated into the
province of Guienne. Among the historic structures are chapels from the 13th and 14th
cent.; the Church of St. Jacobius (13th cent.), with its Gothic frescoes; the St. Hilaire
Church (15th cent.); and the Romanesque and Gothic St. Caprais Cathedral. |
Nerac
