Laurac

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Laurac
Laurac coat of arms
Laurac (France)
Laurac
region Occitania
Department Aude
Arrondissement Carcassonne
Canton La Piège au Razès
Community association Piège Lauragais Malepère
Coordinates 43 ° 14 ′  N , 1 ° 59 ′  E Coordinates: 43 ° 14 ′  N , 1 ° 59 ′  E
height 196-413 m
surface 11.58 km 2
Residents 175 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 15 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 11270
INSEE code 11196

Laurac - view of the place

Laurac is a small French commune with 175 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Aude department in the Occitanie region . For a long time Laurac was nicknamed Le Grand ; until the 14th century it was the main town of the Lauragais .

location

Laurac is about 70 kilometers (driving distance) southeast of Toulouse and about 40 kilometers west of Carcassonne . About 13 kilometers north is Castelnaudary ; Fanjeaux is 13 kilometers southeast.

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2004 2016
Residents 153 123 118 140 124 145 172

In the 18th and 19th centuries Laurac had about 600 to 700 inhabitants; at the beginning of the 20th century there were around 400.

economy

The Lauragais (also called Pays de Cocagne = ' land of milk and honey ' ) had become very prosperous in the Middle Ages and in the early modern period through the cultivation, processing and trade in woad ( pastel ); but with the advent of indigo , which flourished especially in the colonies of America, the wealth melted away. Today the place lives mainly from agriculture (wheat, corn) and a little from tourism.

Laurac has a share in the Malepère wine region , which produces red and rosé wines with a protected designation of origin (AOC).

history

Laurac - side walls of the main gate

The history of a fortified hilltop settlement ( castrum ) possibly goes back to Gallo-Roman times; their existence is considered certain for the 8th century. In the Middle Ages, the place and its castle belonged to the vice-county of Carcassonne , and later to the county of Toulouse .

In the late 12th century, Laurac was a center of the Cathar movement. Blanche de Paracol (later Blanche de Laurac ) and her husband Sicard de Laurac had six children, of whom Géraude de Lavaur and Aimery de Montréal were killed by the troops of Simon de Montfort in 1211, during the Albigensian Crusade .

Raymond VI. , Count of Toulouse, took control of the Lauragais, but in 1226 handed Laurac into the hands of the French King Louis IX. who immediately entrusted it to Bernard-Othon de Niort , grandson of Blanche and Sicard de Laurac. This strengthened and enlarged the city fortifications ( remparts ) and gave the place a last brief period of prosperity.

Since the late Middle Ages, the former importance of Laurac gradually disappeared in favor of Castelnaudary and Saint-Papoul .

Attractions

  • The most important attraction of Laurac is the almost circular layout of the place, which is reminiscent of the early medieval castrum . On the outside, parts of the medieval city walls have been preserved.
  • The parish church ( Église Saint-Laurent ) essentially dates from the 13th century; it stands at the highest point and thus in the middle of the place. Towering outer walls with high-lying window openings give it the appearance of a fortified church . The interior of the church has a single nave with a straight choir closure ; the nave has only a wooden roof structure, while the choir area, separated by a stone arch, is vaulted with ribs. The furnishings include a Romanesque triumphal cross , some Renaissance sculptures (including a Pietà ) and an altar made of white marble.

Personalities

Web links

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