Arrondissements of the Dordogne department facts for kids

The 4 arrondissements of Dordogne (2017).

In France, a department is a large area, a bit like a state or province. Inside each department, there are smaller areas called arrondissements. You can think of an arrondissement as a district or a borough.

The Dordogne department has 4 of these arrondissements. Each arrondissement has a main town, which is called a subprefecture. If the main town of the whole department (which is called a prefecture) is in an arrondissement, then that town acts as both the prefecture and the subprefecture.

Arrondissements are then divided into even smaller areas called communes. These are like small towns or villages.

Here are the 4 arrondissements in Dordogne:

History of Dordogne's Arrondissements

The way the Dordogne department is organized has changed over time. Here's a quick look at some important dates:

Early Changes (1790-1800)

• 1790: The Dordogne department was first created. It had nine districts.
• The towns of Bergerac, Périgueux, and Sarlat-la-Canéda took turns being the main capital.
• Later in the same year, it was decided that only Périgueux would be the permanent capital.
• 1800: The districts were changed into arrondissements. There were five of them: Périgueux, Bergerac, Nontron, Ribérac, and Sarlat.

Later Changes (1926-2017)

• 1926: The arrondissement of Ribérac was removed. This left Dordogne with four arrondissements.
• 1965: The towns of Sarlat and La Canéda joined together. Because of this, the arrondissement of Sarlat became the arrondissement of Sarlat-la-Canéda.
• 2017: The borders of the arrondissements were changed again. This affected 72 communes (small towns or villages).
  • 28 communes moved from Périgueux to Nontron.
  • 22 communes moved from Périgueux to Sarlat-la-Canéda.
  • 21 communes moved from Bergerac to Périgueux.
  • 1 commune moved from Bergerac to Sarlat-la-Canéda.

Images for kids

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  Map of arrondissements of the Dordogne department.