Foix

**Foix** (; ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. Today it is the préfecture of the Ariège department in southwestern France in the Occitanie region.

It is to south of Toulouse, close to the border with Spain and Andorra. The city is only the second city of the department after Pamiers. Of all French *préfectures*, Foix is the one with fewest people living in it.

## History
The Romans built a fort on the rocky hill where the Château de Foix castle now overlooks the town. The town of Foix probably owes its origin to an oratory founded by Charlemagne, which afterwards became the Abbey of Saint Volusianus in 849. The current area of the department was part of the old County of Foix.

## Geography
The city of Foix lies in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, in southern France. It is on the confluence of the Ariège and Arget rivers. Foix is at  to the south of Toulouse.

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

The *commune* of Foix is surrounded by the *communes* Arabaux, Cos, Crampagna, Ferrières-sur-Ariège, Ganac, Montgaillard, Pradières, Saint-Jean-de-Verges, Saint-Pierre-de-Rivière and Vernajoul.

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

## Population
The inhabitants of Foix are known, in French, as *Fuxéens* (women: *Fuxéennes*).

Foix has a population of 6,9,721 (2014), and population density of  inhabitants/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Foix**

Colors=
  id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
  id:darkgrey  value:gray(0.7)
  id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)
  id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8)

ImageSize = width:500 height:373
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:12000
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2000 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

BarData=
 bar:1968 text:1968
 bar:1975 text:1975
 bar:1982 text:1982
 bar:1990 text:1990
 bar:1999 text:1999
 bar:2008 text:2008
 bar:2014 text:2014

PlotData=
 color:barra width:30 align:left

 bar:1968 from:0 till: 9331
 bar:1975 from:0 till: 9599
 bar:1982 from:0 till: 9282
 bar:1990 from:0 till: 9964
 bar:1999 from:0 till: 9109
 bar:2008 from:0 till: 9712
 bar:2014 from:0 till: 9721

PlotData=
 bar:1968 at: 9331 fontsize:S text: 9,331 shift:(-12,5)
 bar:1975 at: 9599 fontsize:S text: 9,599 shift:(-17,5)
 bar:1982 at: 9282 fontsize:S text: 9,282 shift:(-17,5)
 bar:1990 at: 9964 fontsize:S text: 9,964 shift:(-13,5)
 bar:1999 at: 9109 fontsize:S text: 9,109 shift:(-13,5)
 bar:2008 at: 9712 fontsize:S text: 9,712 shift:(-13,5)
 bar:2014 at: 9721 fontsize:S text: 9,721 shift:(-17,5)

Foix forms, with other 5 *communes*, the urban area of Foix with a population of 14,552 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Foix, formed by 17 *communes* with a population of 18,406 inhabitants (2013) and an area of .

## Administration 
Foix is the prefecture of the Ariège department, the capital of the *arrondissement* of Foix and the administrative centre () of the canton of Foix (with 13,700 inhabitants in 2014).

It is part of the intercommunality *Pays Foix-Varilhes* ().

### Twinned and partner towns 
Foix is twinned with:
*  Lleida, Spain
*  Andorra la Vella, Andorra

## Sites of interest
* The main historic building is the **Castle of the Counts of Foix** or, simply, **Castle of Foix**; it is on the top of a rocky hill that overlooks the city.
* The *old town*, with narrow streets and houses of traditional architecture.
* **Saint-Volusien Abbey**
* The ***Villote*** (small town), in the Middle Ages, was a space outside the walls surrounding the city built in 1330.

## Gallery

File:Chateau de foix 001.jpg|*Chateau de Foix*
File:Foix mairie.JPG|Foix City Hall
File:Foix.jpg|Foix: the old town viewed from the castle
File:Chateau de Foix nuit de la Saint Sylvestre.JPG|*Chateau de Foix* by night

## Related pages
* Arrondissement of Foix
* Communes of the Ariège department

## References
## Other websites
* Site officiel de la ville de Foix 
* Office de Tourisme du Pays Foix-Varilhes  
* Foix in Histariège - Histoire et Patrimoine de l'Ariège