Castelsarrasin

Castelsarrasin () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of France. It is the second city in Tarn-et-Garonne with more people living in it, after Montauban.

It is a subprefecture in the department and the capital of the Castelsarrasin arrondissement.

History
The oldest written example of Castelsarrasin, as Castel Sarracenum, is from the year 961. It was written in the will of Raymond II of Rouergue where he gave the Saint-Sauveur church to the monastery of Moissac.

Castel Sarracenum ("Saracen Castle") was given that name because the castle was built in the Saracen era.

There were many wars during the early history of the city:
 against the English until the end of the 12th century;
 the Albigensian Crusade during the first part of the 13th century; and
 the Shepherd's Crusade of 1320 when many Jews that lived in the city were killed.

Later, the Hundred Years' War affected the region. Most people that lived in the city were Catholics but many Protestants lived around the city. Fights were common here between those two groups during the French Wars of Religion in the 16th century.

The region was more calm during the following centuries, up to the time of the French Revolution.

From 1790 to 1795, Castelsarrasin was the capital of the District of Castelsarrasin in the Haute-Garonne department. In 1808, when the Tarn-et-Garonne department was created, the arrondissement of Castelsarrasin was made part of the new department.

Geography
Castelsarrasin is near the Garonne river, which runs through the southwest of the commune. The city is at  to the west of Montauban, préfecture of the department.

It has an area of  and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The communes that are around Castelsarrasin are Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, Moissac, Les Barthes, La Ville-Dieu-du-Temple, Saint-Porquier, Cordes-Tolosannes, Saint-Aignan, Castelferrus and Castelmayran.

Climate
The climate of Castelsarrasin, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.

Population
The inhabitants of Castelsarrasin are known, in French, as Castelsarrasinois (women: Castelsarrasinoises).

With a population in 2014 of 13,765, Castelsarrasin has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Castelsarrasin

Administration
Castelsarrasin is a subprefecture of the Tarn-et-Garonne department since 1809. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Castelsarrasin and the administrative centre () of the canton Castelsarrasin with 6 communes and 20,937 inhabitants in 2014.

It is part of the intercommunality Terres des confluences.

Twin cities 
Castelsarrasin is a twin town of:
  Fiume Veneto, Italy, since 2007

Places of interest
Some interesting places in Castelsarrasin are:
 The Saint-Sauveur church, mentioned since 961; it was rebuilt in 1254.
 The ''Saint-Jean church, mentioned since 1216; it was partially rebuilt in 1515.
 The Notre-Dame d'Alem chapel.
 The Jacques-Yves Cousteau'' port.

Gallery

People from Castelsarrasin
 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (1658-1730), founder of Detroit and governor of Louisiana.

Related pages
 Arrondissement of Castelsarrasin
 Communes of the Tarn-et-Garonne department

Notes

References

Other websites

 Ville de Castelsarrasin - official website 

Subprefectures in France
Communes in Tarn-et-Garonne