Mirande

**Mirande** () is a commune in the Gers department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the Occitanie region, southwestern France. It is the administrative center of the *arrondissement* of Mirande and of the canton of Mirande-Astarac.

## History
Mirande was founded in 1281 near the village of *Saint-Jean de Lezian* by the abbot Berdoues and by Bernhard IV, Count of Astarac. The town was built as a bastide (a fortified town). Miranda became, in 1297, the capital of the *County of Astarac*.

Mirande was surrounded by a wall with four city gates; the wall was destroyed during the 19th century.

Since 17 February 1800, Mirande is the capital of the *arrondissement* of Mirande.

## Geography
Mirande is a *commune* found along the Baïse river in the *Astarac*, a natural region that is part of *Gascony*.

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

Mirande is at  from Auch,  from Toulouse,  from Tarbes and  from Lourdes.

Mirande is surrounded by the following *communes*, all of them part of the arrondissement of Mirande: Estipouy and Mouchès to the north, Miramont-d'Astarac to the northeast, Idrac-Respaillès to the east, Saint-Médard to the southeast, Berdoues to the south, Saint-Martin and Monclar-sur-Losse to the west and Montesquiou to the northwest.

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

## Population
The inhabitants of Mirande are known, in French, as *Mirandais* (women: *Mirandaises*).

With a population of 3,527 (2014), Mirande has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Mirande**

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 bar:1968 from:0 till: 4075
 bar:1975 from:0 till: 3879
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 bar:2005 from:0 till: 3691
 bar:2014 from:0 till: 3527

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 bar:1975 at: 3879 fontsize:S text: 3,879 shift:(-15,5)
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 bar:1990 at: 3565 fontsize:S text: 3,565 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:1999 at: 3568 fontsize:S text: 3,568 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2005 at: 3691 fontsize:S text: 3,691 shift:(-15,5)
 bar:2014 at: 3527 fontsize:S text: 3,527 shift:(-15,5)

## Gallery

File:Mirande Gers jnl 1.jpg|St. Mary's Cathedral
File:St. Mary's Cathedral, Mirande, Gers, France.JPG|St. Mary's Cathedral, Mirande
File:Museum of Fine Arts and Tourist Information Center, Mirande, Gers, France.JPG| Museum of Fine Arts and Tourist Information Center, Mirande
File:Mirande Market Hall (Gers, France).JPG|Mirande Market Hall
File:Kiosque de la place d'Astarac (Mirande, Gers, France).JPG|The Astarac square, Mirande

## Sister cities
Mirande is twinned with:
*  Korntal-Münchingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
*  L'Eliana, Valencia, Spain
*  San Mauro Torinese, Piedmont, Italy
*  Tubize, Walloon Brabant, Belgium

## Related pages
* Arrondissement of Mirande
* Communes of the Gers department

## References
## Other websites
* City Council website 
* Office de Tourisme - Miranda