Lordat
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Lordat Lhordat |
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| region | Occitania | |
| Department | Ariège | |
| Arrondissement | Foix | |
| Canton | Haute-Ariège | |
| Community association | Haute Ariège | |
| Coordinates | 42 ° 47 ' N , 1 ° 45' E | |
| height | 680-2,321 m | |
| surface | 7.37 km 2 | |
| Residents | 68 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 9 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 09250 | |
| INSEE code | 09171 | |
 Lordat - View from the Château de Lordat |
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Lordat ( Occitan Lhordat ) is a mountain village and a small municipality in the south of France with 68 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Ariège department in the Occitania region .
location
The place Lordat is at an altitude of about 850 to 900 m above sea level. d. M. and thus almost 400 m above the valley of the Ariège in the northern foothills of the Pyrenees . The health resort of Ax-les-Thermes is only 14 km (driving distance) in a south-easterly direction; the towns of Foix and Pamiers are about 38 and 58 km northwest, respectively. The temperatures are moderate; the rainfalls (approx. 890 mm / year) fall spread over the whole year.
Population development
| year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2014 |
| Residents | 198 | 245 | 166 | 77 | 43 | 53 |
The phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture led to a loss of jobs in the late 19th and 20th centuries and, as a consequence, to a continuous decline in the number of inhabitants to the lowest levels of the last decades.
economy
The residents of Lordat live mainly from agriculture, with livestock farming and thus milk and cheese production in the foreground, but viticulture is also being practiced again to a small extent. Some residents work in the Talk factory of Luzenac ; In addition, tourism - also in the form of renting out holiday homes ( gîtes ) - plays an important role in the economic life of the small community.
history
The 965 m high castle rock of Lordat was already a strategically important base in Celtic and Roman times, because it was almost impregnable; there was a castellum on its summit . A castle is mentioned as early as 970, which belonged to the Counts of Carcassonne and was ceded to the Counts of Foix at the beginning of the 11th century ; the place gradually developed at their feet. In the 13th century the castle probably offered shelter to some Cathars ; later it had to be razed by order of the Crown of Aragon .
Attractions
- The once huge castle complex extends in several concentric rings over the entire southern summit area of the castle rock; the north flank is invincible. The gates that are still recognizable are mostly angled ( chicanées ) - a defense technique that is more common in Islamic areas. In the center of the complex there was a donjon on a square floor plan, the lower parts of which are still upright. The castle has been recognized as a monument historique since 1923 .
- The castle area houses a bird of prey observatory, which presents daily flight performances of various birds to tourists.
- The parish church of Sainte-Marie is a single-nave building made of rubble from the 17th century. The unadorned and windowless west facade is surmounted by a slightly curved bell gable. The simple but well-tended interior of the church is spanned by a wide-span wooden ribbed vault that rests on figuratively designed stucco consoles . The light of the church is mainly through windows on the south side.
Web links
- Lordat, Viticulture - Info (French)
- Lordat, history of the castle - photos + information (very detailed website, French)
- Lordat, history of the castle - photos, floor plan + information (French)
- Lordat, castle and bird of prey observatory - photos + information (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lordat - map with altitude information
- ↑ Lordat - climate tables
- ↑ Ruines de Château, Lordat in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)