Saint-Girons, Ariège

**Saint-Girons** (Gascon: *Sent Gironç*) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region, southwestern France. It is the capital of the former French province of *Couserans* that forms the western part of Ariège.

## History
 of the Lez and Salat rivers at Saint-Girons]]
Unlike its close neighbour Saint-Lizier, Saint-Girons is not an ancient city; there was however a *lucus* (a "sacred forest") on its present territory.

The city is named after Saint Girons, a saint from fifth-century Landes who evangelized in southwestern France. In the ninth century some of his relics were supposedly buried in Saint Girons' Church, around which the city later developed.

## Geography
Saint-Girons is in the center of a basin at the foot of the Pyrenees and at the confluence of the Salat with the Lez and Baup rivers, in the Ariège department, southern France. The *commune* is part of the Regional Natural Park Pyrenees Ariégeoises.

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

The *commune* of Saint-Girons is surrounded by the *communes*:

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

## Population
 river]]
The inhabitants of Saint-Girons are known, in French, as *Saint-Gironnais* or *Gironnais* (women: *Saint-Gironnaises* or *Gironnaises*).

Saint-Girons has a population of 6,284 (2014), and population density of  inhabitants/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Saint-Girons**

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 bar:1968 from:0 till: 7971
 bar:1975 from:0 till: 8130
 bar:1982 from:0 till: 7260
 bar:1990 from:0 till: 6596
 bar:1999 from:0 till: 6254
 bar:2007 from:0 till: 6552
 bar:2014 from:0 till: 6284

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 bar:1968 at: 7971 fontsize:S text: 7,971 shift:(-12,5)
 bar:1975 at: 8130 fontsize:S text: 8,130 shift:(-17,5)
 bar:1982 at: 7260 fontsize:S text: 7,260 shift:(-17,5)
 bar:1990 at: 6596 fontsize:S text: 6,596 shift:(-13,5)
 bar:1999 at: 6254 fontsize:S text: 6,254 shift:(-13,5)
 bar:2007 at: 6552 fontsize:S text: 6,552 shift:(-13,5)
 bar:2014 at: 6284 fontsize:S text: 6,284 shift:(-17,5)

Saint-Girons forms, with other 3 *communes*, the urban area of Saint-Girons with a population of 9,652 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Saint-Girons, formed by 39 *communes* with a population of 18,222 inhabitants (2013) and an area of .

## Administration 
Saint-Girons is a subprefecture of the Ariège department, the capital of the *arrondissement* of Saint-Girons and the administrative centre () of the canton Couserans Ouest, with 10,686 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality *Couserans - Pyrénées* ().

### Twinned and partner towns 
Saint-Girons is twinned with:
*  Vielha e Mijaran, Lleida, Spain
*  Albese con Cassano, Como Italy

## Sites of interest
Some important buildings are:
* The **Saint-Girons church**
* The **Saint-Valier church**
* The **Palais de Justice**

## Gallery

File:Saint-Girons (Ariège) - Église Saint-Girons - 20070625.jpg|''St Girons' Church'' by the Salat river
File:Marché de Saint Girons.jpg|Market in the Gambetta street, Saint-Girons
File:Château de St-Girons (Ariège).jpg|Château des Vicomtes, Parc du Tribunal
File:Saint-Girons - Petite Rue des Jacobins - 20120129 (1).jpg|Petite Rue des Jacobins, Saint-Girons
File:Saint-Girons - Château des Vicomtes - 20110807 (1).jpg|Hall in the Château des Vicomtes

## Related pages
* Arrondissement of Saint-Girons
* Communes of the Ariège department

## References
## Other websites
* City Council website 
* Pays Couserans  
* Saint-Girons in Histariège - Histoire et Patrimoine de l'Ariège