Alaigne

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Alaigne
Alanha
Alaigne coat of arms
Alaigne (France)
Alaigne
region Occitania
Department Aude
Arrondissement Limoux
Canton La Piège au Razès
Community association Limouxin
Coordinates 43 ° 6 ′  N , 2 ° 6 ′  E Coordinates: 43 ° 6 ′  N , 2 ° 6 ′  E
height 244-444 m
surface 13.86 km 2
Residents 326 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 24 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 11240
INSEE code 11004

Alaigne with the Saint-Pierre church

Alaigne ( Occitan : Alanha ) is a southern French municipality with 326 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the west of the Aude department in the Occitania region .

location

The circular village ( Circulade ) Alaigne is located at an altitude of about 320 meters above sea level. d. M. in the historic county of Razès , about 35 kilometers (driving distance) southwest of Carcassonne . The canton capital of Limoux is just under 13 kilometers to the south-east.

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2016
Residents 365 366 330 290 300 297 326

In the 19th century, the place usually had well over 500 inhabitants. Due to the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the increasing mechanization of agriculture , the population has since declined to the lows in the 1980s and 1990s.

economy

In earlier times, the residents of the village lived largely on self-sufficiency from agriculture, with both grain and wine being grown. In addition, they ran a little cattle (pigs, chickens, etc.). As in many places in Languedoc , viticulture has dominated since the 19th century; the place belongs to the Malepère wine region . The wine cooperative ( Cave Coopérative du Razès ) markets its wines through the appellations Aude , Pays Cathare , Malepère and Pays d'Oc . Because of the sales crisis for French wines, grain ( wheat , maize ) and sunflowers are being sown again in many areas . Tourism in the form of the rental of holiday homes ( gîtes ) has also played an important role in the income of the population and the community since the 1960s.

history

Already in the 9th century there is talk of a small monastery ( Couvent de St Pierre ). In the 12th and 13th centuries, the place was fortified, with the outer ring of houses of the round village ( Circulade ) serving as a 'city wall'. Nothing is known about the time of the Hundred Years War (1347–1463) and the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598). From the 13th century until the beginning of the French Revolution , the place belonged to the manorial rule of the bishops of Narbonne .

Attractions

  • The tower-crowned city gate Porte de Pépy (also Papy or Popy ) from the 15th / 16th centuries. The 19th century was recognized as a monument historique in 1948 . A coat of arms is emblazoned above the inner and outer arches. Inside the tower there are three floors, each with only one windowless room.
  • A second, smaller city gate, the Porte d'Arres , now only appears as an arch.
  • The fountain in the central square dates from the second half of the 19th century.
  • During this time, the parish church ( Église Saint-Pierre ), which was originally from the 16th century and - exceptionally - is not in the center of the village, but integrated into the ring of houses, was expanded. It contains a reliquary cross ( Croix de Sainte Julie ) from the previous building; this comes from a goldsmith's workshop in Limoux and was made in the second half of the 17th century.
  • The small Sainte-Julie chapel stands by the cemetery .

Web links

Commons : Alaigne  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Porte de Papi, Alaigne in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)