Saint-Gaudens

Saint-Gaudens
region	Occitania
Department	Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement	Saint-Gaudens
Canton	Saint-Gaudens (main town)
Community association	Coeur et Coteaux du Comminges
Coordinates	43 ° 6 ' N , 0 ° 43' E Coordinates: 43 ° 6 ' N , 0 ° 43' E
height	338-558 m
surface	33.18 km 2
Residents	11,517 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	347 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	31800
INSEE code	31483
Website	Saint-Gaudens
	; Saint-Gaudens - Collegiate Church of Saint-Pierre et Saint-Gaudens

Saint-Gaudens ( Sent Gaudenç in Occitan ) is a small town in the south of France and a municipality (commune) with 11,517 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitania region (previously Midi-Pyrénées ); it is the administrative seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens and the canton of Saint-Gaudens .

Location and climate

Saint-Gaudens is located on the left bank of the Garonne in the historic province of Comminges at the foot of the Pyrenees at an altitude of around 380 to 400 m . The city of Toulouse is just 95 km (driving distance) to the northeast. The Pico Aneto , the highest mountain in the Pyrenees (3404 m), is about 40 km (as the crow flies) south. The climate is temperate; Precipitation (approx. 800 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1800	1851	1901	1954	1999	2015
Residents	4.155	4,692	7,277	8,023	10,845	11,327

The continuous increase in population since the second half of the 19th century is mainly due to the rural exodus as a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the mechanization of agriculture ; In addition, there is the ongoing closure of small farms.

economy

The community is still largely dominated by agriculture and forestry; viticulture, which was quite important in earlier times, hardly plays a role. Small traders, craftsmen, service providers and medium-sized industrial companies have settled in the village.

history

In ancient times , a Roman road from Toulouse to Dax passed nearby; here was the Mansus domain , which was called Mas Saint Pierre after Christianization . Legend has it that Gaudens, killed by the Visigoths , was buried here in 475 . In the 8th century a monastery dedicated to him was founded; all around a village emerged from which the city developed. In 1160 a hospital of the Order of St. John was established . At the beginning of the 13th century, the place was temporarily involved in the Albigensian problem. Under Henry IV (r. 1589–1610) the city and its surrounding area came into the possession of the French crown domain .

Attractions

The collegiate church of St-Pierre-et-St-Gaudens with attached cloister (cloître) is one of the most important churches in the French Pyrenees; it has been classified as a Monument historique since 1840 .
The so-called Oratory Notre-Dame-de-la-Caoue consists of an upright Roman sarcophagus ; it is said to be at the point where St. Gaudens suffered martyrdom. It has been recognized as a monument historique since 1929 .
Chapelle Saint-Jacques
reconstructed Bonnefont cloister from the 13th century
stone market hall from 1830, monument historique since 1929.

Personalities

Armand Marrast (1801-1852), journalist
Jean Marie Charles Abadie (1842-1932), ophthalmologist
Yves Giraud-Cabantous (1904–1973), racing car driver
Robert Davezies (1923–2007), Roman Catholic theologian, labor priest and supporter of the Algerian freedom fighters of the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN)
Guy Lafitte (1927-1998), jazz saxophonist
Marcel Tarrès (* 1981), racing car driver
Pierre Berbizier (born 1958), rugby player