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History
The name of Bordeaux is always synanymous of quality and quite often of exception and excellence for wine lovers. This worldwide reputation is due, without any doubt to its major role in wine-making and trading. Indeniably, wine-making trading has left its stamp on the town of Bordeaux. In the old days, this area was populated with foreigners and the ''Quartier des Chartrons'' has to this day, kept its fame's height.
This district owes its name to the Convent of the Chartreux (Couvent des Chartreux) which established itself at the end of the 14th century. ''Les Chartrons'' area ia also reputed for the wine trade that was started as early as the 17th century.
We now have forgotten the life that went on with the harbour activities one century ago...
Between the Garonne river embankment roads and the impressive avenue of ornate and wealthy wine traders's houses there was a huge amount of sailors and labourers who worked and contributed amply to to the wine commercial trade. They were busy tending to wine cases and barrels which had to be transferred to barges from anchored merchant ships.
Blooming lime trees and the soothing sound of a couple of fountains enticed one to a leisurely and charming stroll.
As said earlier on, the ''Convent des Chartreux'', was founded at the end of the 14th century and the Chartrons´s district owes its wealthy reputation to wine-trading which English merchants had the monopole of in the first place, followed by the Northern European Hanseatics.
In the 17th century, a Flemish gentleman by the name of Conrad Gaussen proceeded to work on the drainage of the river bank.
From that time the beautiful wine-traders´s houses turned into even more beautiful high standing premises and became the ''ultimate facades'' of the ''Quai des Chartrons''.
Today, two houses only, so-called ''Dutch-Houses'' remain to be seen.
After that came the colonial economic expansion. It reached a certain level, in par with the wine-trading expansion. Following that, Bordeaux was given a formidable economic growth during the mid-18th century. Wine traders/growers having by then made themselves richer were able to to build river-side sumptuous houses of which we can witness the architectural beauty today.
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