La Force (Aude)

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La Force
La Fòrça
La Force Coat of Arms
La Force (France)
La Force
region Occitania
Department Aude
Arrondissement Carcassonne
Canton La Piège au Razès
Community association Piège Lauragais Malepère
Coordinates 43 ° 12 '  N , 2 ° 6'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 12 '  N , 2 ° 6'  E
height 158-233 m
surface 4.60 km 2
Residents 222 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 48 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 11270
INSEE code 11153

La Force - aerial view of the Circulade

La Force ( Occitan : La Fòrça ) is a southern French municipality with 222 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the center of the Aude department in the Occitania region .

location

The circular village ( Circulade ) La Force is located in the extreme southeast of the cultural landscape of the Lauragais at an altitude of about 190 meters above sea level. d. M. about 25 kilometers (driving distance) west of Carcassonne or about five kilometers northeast of Fanjeaux . The historically significant place Bram is only about ten kilometers north.

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2010 2016
Residents 154 128 129 140 187 205 218

In the 19th century the place had almost 600 inhabitants at times, but because of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the increasing mechanization of agriculture , the number of inhabitants has since declined to the lows in the 1970s and 1980s. Because of the proximity to the city of Carcassonne and the significantly lower land or property prices in the countryside, a slow increase in population has been recorded since then.

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.). In the late Middle Ages and in the early modern period, woad ( pastel ) was cultivated, but as in many places in Languedoc , viticulture has dominated since the 19th century: the wines produced here are sold via the appellations Aude , Pays Cathare , Malépierre and Pays d'Oc marketed. However, cereals ( wheat , maize ) and sunflowers are sown in many areas . Tourism in the form of renting holiday apartments ( gîtes ) has also played a not insignificant role for the income of the population and the community since the 1960s.

history

Église de la Nativité de la Sainte Vierge

The place names Fortia or Forcia have been handed down from medieval documents . Nothing is known about the destruction during the Albigensian Wars as it took place in the neighboring town of Bram .

Attractions

  • The old town center belongs to the type of Circulades - round villages that were built around a core consisting of a castle and / or church for defense reasons. The outer house front served as a replacement for an expensive city wall.
  • The church of the village, which was revised in the 19th century, originally dates from the 12th / 13th centuries. Century and is dedicated to the birth of Mary ( Nativité de la Sainte Vierge ). The bell tower should be a little younger.

Web links

Commons : La Force  - collection of images, videos and audio files