Montferrand

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Montferrand (disambiguation) .

Montferrand
region	Occitania
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Carcassonne
Canton	Le Bassin Chaurien
Community association	Castelnaudary Lauragais Audois
Coordinates	43 ° 22 ′  N , 1 ° 49 ′  E Coordinates: 43 ° 22 ′  N , 1 ° 49 ′  E
height	186-301 m
surface	17.93 km 2
Residents	565 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	32 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	11320
INSEE code	11243
Montferrand - church and cemetery

Montferrand is a municipality in the south of France with 565 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Aude department in the Occitania region .

location

Montferrand lies in the heart of the old cultural landscape of the Lauragais at an altitude of about 240 meters above sea level. d. M. and about 58 kilometers (driving distance) northwest of Carcassonne and about 13 kilometers northwest of Castelnaudary .

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2016
Residents	480	438	395	352	356	410	467	546

In the 19th century the place always had between 700 and 1000 inhabitants. The mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs has since led to a significant decline in the number of inhabitants.

economy

The area around the village is still characterized by agriculture, which in the late Middle Ages and early modern times mainly concentrated on the cultivation of woad ( pastel ). The import of indigo led to a gradual economic decline from the 18th century and farmers turned back to 'normal' agriculture. At the end of the 20th century, tourism in the form of the rental of holiday apartments ( gîtes ) was added as an economic factor.

history

Not much is known about the origins of the village, which is located on a hill, like many other places in Lauragais. However, a Gallo-Roman site excavated at the foot of the village and the small medieval church indicate a long period of settlement. Nothing is known about the destruction during the Albigensian Crusades (1209–1229), the Hundred Years War (1337–1453) or the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598).

Attractions

City gate

• The small Romanesque parish church ( Église Saint-Pierre ) with its bell gable is still surrounded by the cemetery. The single-nave church building has a rectangular encased apse , which has been recognized as a monument historique since 1948 .
• Only a rather inconspicuous gate of the formerly existing city wall has survived.
• In the case of the parcel called Peyre Clouque , the remains of a Gallo-Roman country estate ( villa rustica ) or a settlement from the time with a basilica building and a thermal bath were uncovered in the 1950s . There was a cemetery in the immediate vicinity; some of the graves contained silver burial objects. The site is classified as a monument historique . ( [1] )

Web links

Commons : Montferrand (Aude)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Église Saint-Pierre, Montferrand in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
2. ↑ Vestiges archéologiques, Montferrand in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)