Romans fortified the hilltop of Carcassonne around 100 BC and eventually made it the "colonia" of "Julia Carsaco", later "Carcasum". The main part of the lower courses of the northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times.
In 462 the Romans officially left and the Visigothic king Theodoric II built more fortifications at Carcassonne, some of them still stand. In 760, Pippin was unable to take Carcassonne, although he was able to most of the south of France.
In 1067 Carcassonne became the property of Raimond Bernard Trencavel, viscount of Albi and Nîmes. Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of occitan cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and Aragon.
Carcassonne is at about southeast of Toulouse in the space between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central of France. It is at the crossing of two major traffic routes: the route leading from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and that from the Massif Central to Spain, skirting the Pyrenees. Both routes exist since ancient history.
The "commune" is in the valley of the Aude river. Another river that flows through the city is the Fresquel river. The Canal du Midi also flows through the "commune".
The "commune" of Carcassonne has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
The "commune" of Carcassonne is surrounded by the "communes":
The climate of Carcassonne, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - oceanic climate with warm summers.
The inhabitants of Carcassonne are known, in French, as "Carcassonnais" (women: "Carcassonnaises ").
With a population of 45,941, Carcassonne has a population density of inhabitants/km.
Evolution of the population in Carcassonne
Carcassonne forms, with other 2 "communes", the urban area of Carcassonne with a population of 49,257 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Carcassonne, formed by 71 "communes" with a population of 98,318 inhabitants (2013) and an area of .
A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation academy) is in Carcassonne.
Carcassonne is the prefecture of the Aude department, the capital of the "arrondissement" of Carcassonne and the administrative centre () of three cantons:
It is part of the intercommunality "Carcassonne Agglo" ().
Carcassonne is twinned with:
The fortifications consist of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers. In 1849, the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc took over restoration works.
At his death in 1879 his pupil Paul Boeswillwald, and later the architect Nodet continued the rehabilitation of Carcassonne. The restoration was strongly criticized during Viollet-le-Duc's lifetime because he made the error of using slates and restoring the roofs as pointed cones, where local practice was traditionally of tile roofing and low slopes, as in this region snow was very seldom. But today Viollet-le-Duc's work at Carcassonne is thought to be a work of genius, even if it is not exactly the same as it was.
Carcassonne (disambiguation)
Carcassonne can mean:
Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Villeneuve-sur-Lot (Gascon: "Vilanuèva d'Olt") is a town and commune in southwestern France, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is a subprefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department. The commune was formerly named "Villeneuve-d'Agen".
It is also the capital of the "arrondissement" of Villeneuve-sur-Lot and of 2 "cantons" in the department: Villeneuve-sur-Lot-1 and Villeneuve-sur-Lot-2.
The region where the city is was first populated by the Romans. In the 11th century, a Benedictine abbey was constructed near where is the city now. There was a small village of potters and farmers around the abbey. Between 1254 and 1263, Alphonse of Poitiers had a bastide built. He also gave the bastide city rights. The bastide has a rectangular look, with a central square.
Because of its privileged geographical situation on the river lot, the city played an important role in wars of the region:
The "commune" has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is surrounded by the "communes" Lédat, Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe, La Sauvetat-sur-Lède, Monflanquin, Savignac-sur-Leyze, Saint-Aubin, Trentels, Saint-Sylvestre-sur-Lot, Penne-d'Agenais, Hautefage-la-Tour, Pujols and Bias.
The Lot river flows through the city of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. The Lède river, a tributary of the Lot, flows through the northern part of the "commune".
The climate of Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.
The inhabitants of Villeneuve-sur-Lot are known, in French, as "Villeneuvois" (women: "Villeneuvoises").
With a population of 23,263, Villeneuve-sur-Lot has a population density of inhabitants/km.
Evolution of the population in Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is a subprefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department since 1800. It is also the capital of the "arrondissement" of Villeneuve-sur-Lot and the administrative centre () of 2 cantons:
It is part of the intercommunality "Grand Villeneuvois" ().
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is twinned with:
Agen
Agen is a commune in southwestern France, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department and the capital of the "arrondissement" of Agen.
The "Agenais", the region where is the "commune", is a natural region of the old province of Aquitaine, now in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Agen is in the southeast of the Lot-et-Garonne department, on the right (eastern) side of the Garonne river and close to the Canal de Garonne. The city is at about from Toulouse and from Bordeaux.
The "commune" has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
Agen is surrounded by the "communes" Colayrac-Saint-Cirq, Foulayronnes, Pont-du-Casse, Bon-Encontre, Boé and Le Passage.
The climate of Agen is Marine West Coast Climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with mild winters and warm summers.
The inhabitants of Agen are known, in French, as "Agenais" (women: "Agenaises").
With a population of 34,126, Agen has a population density of inhabitants/km.
Evolution of the population in Agen
Agen forms, together with other 15 "communes", the urban area of Agen with a population of 81,110 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Agen, formed by 64 "communes", with a population of 112,801 inhabitants (2013) and an area of .
Agen is the "prefecture" of the Lot-et-Garonne department since 1790. It is also the capital of the "arrondissement" of Agen and the administrative centre () of 4 cantons:
It is part of the intercommunality "Agen" ().
Agen is twinned with:
Agen is the "capital of the prune", a local produce sold as a sweet (stuffed with prune purée) or as an after-dinner delight (prunes soaked in Armagnac – a type of brandy). Every September, the Prune festival organizes rock concerts, circuses and prune tasting.
Libourne
Libourne (Gascon Liborna) is a commune in the Gironde department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, both known for their wines.colonial moroccan
Libourne was created as a bastide by Roger de Leybourne in 1270. The original name of "Leybourne" changed to the present "Libourne". Its original aim was to be a port to ship wine of the Dordogne valley to England.
Libourne is at the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne rivers. The city is at about from Bordeaux and from Arcachon.
It has an area of , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .