Castres
Castres | |
---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
Coordinates: 43°36′00″N 2°15′00″E / 43.6000°N 2.2500°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Occitania |
Department | Tarn |
Arrondissement | Castres |
Canton | Castres-1, 2 and 3 |
Intercommunality | CA Castres Mazamet |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Pascal Bugis[1] (DVD) |
Area 1 | 98.17 km2 (37.90 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 42,672 |
• Density | 430/km2 (1,100/sq mi) |
Demonym | Castrais |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 81065 /81100 |
Elevation | 151–367 m (495–1,204 ft) (avg. 170 m or 560 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Castres (French:
Castres is the fourth-largest industrial centre of the predominantly rural former Midi-Pyrénées region after Toulouse, Tarbes and Albi, as well as the largest in the part of Languedoc lying between Toulouse and Montpellier. It is noted for being the birthplace of the famous socialist leader Jean Jaurès (1859–1914) and home to the important Goya Museum of Spanish painting.[3]
Demographics
In 1831, the population of Castres was 12,032, making it the largest town of the department of Tarn. One of the few industrial towns in the region of
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Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968–2017)[4] |
Geography
Castres is located at an altitude of 172 metres (564 feet)
The Thoré forms most of the commune's south-eastern border, then flows into the Agout, which forms part of its western border.
Administration
Between 1790 and 1797 Castres was the prefecture of Tarn.
Since 2001, the mayor of Castres has been
Castres has teamed up with the nearby town of
The communauté d'agglomération was created in order to better coordinate transport, infrastructure, housing, and economic policies between the communes of the area. The current president of the communauté d'agglomération is Pascal Bugis, mayor of Castres.[6]
History
The name of the town comes from
During the
Around 1560, the majority of the population of Castres converted to Protestantism. In the wars of the latter part of the 16th century the inhabitants sided with the
In 1670 however, the Chambre de l'Édit was transferred to
The outbreak of the
Despite these setbacks, in the 19th century the economy of Castres developed greatly, and the town grew outside of its old medieval center. As early as 1815, the first mechanized wool mill was set up in town. Originally specialized in luxury cloth, the Castres textile industry then turned toward more ordinary types of cloth, whose markets were considerably larger. Around 1860, there were 50 wool mills in town, employing 3,000 people. In the end of the 19th century, mechanical engineering industries appeared beside the textile industry, which led to Castres becoming a major arsenal for the French army during the First World War. Castres was linked to the French railway network in 1865. At the end of the 19th century, Castres was the largest town in the département of Tarn, with 5,000 more inhabitants than Albi.
However, in the 20th century the town entered a new period of decline. Although Castres emerged from the two world wars unscathed, no military operations or combats taking place in southwest France, the local economy has been hard hit by change. Like so many towns and cities of Europe which had benefited most from the Industrial Revolution, Castres is experiencing a difficult restructuring of its industrial base. Textile has particularly suffered. Castres is also crippled by its geographical location, isolated in a dead end at the foot of the Massif Central mountains, away from the main exchange and transport routes. Castres is still not connected to the motorway (freeway) network of France, the only town of that size in France not yet connected. The creation of the Greater Castres-Mazamet Council in 2000 was expected to deal with the transport problem, and to work on attracting new industries. The good fortune of Castres is to be located only 79 kilometres (49 mi) away from the very dynamic Toulouse. The long-promised motorway link with Toulouse is due to be completed soon, and Castres hopes to benefit from its proximity with the big Occitan city.
Economy
The principal industries are mechanical and electrical engineering, machine tools, wooden furniture, granite, textile, fur and leather-dressing, tanning, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and selective breeding of cows.
Traditional and polluting industries such as textile, tanning, fur and leather-dressing, or chemicals, are in sharp decline. However, a multinational pharmaceutical group (
Transport
The
People
Castres is the hometown of
Mathematician Pierre de Fermat died in Castres in 1665, while attending a session of the Chambre de l'Édit there.
French writer Roger Peyrefitte was born into a wealthy family of Castres in 1907.
Former French
Other people born in the city include:
- Guilhabert de Castres - Cathar bishop
- Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult- Politician and marshal during the Napoleonic wars
- André Dacier - Scholar
- John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier - British general
- Paul de Rapin - Historian
- Roger Peyrefitte - Diplomat and author
- Claude Puel - Football player and manager
- Charles Blanc - Art critic
- Yannick Jauzion - Rugby union player
- Clément Poitrenaud - Rugby union player
- Pierre Camara - Athlete
- Pierre-Paul Sirven - philosopher
- Maryline Salvetat - cyclist.
- Guillaume Borne - footballer
- Maurice Gabolde - Minister of Justice in the Vichy regime of Philippe Petain
- Lore Baudrit - ice hockey player
Residents of Castres include:
- Paul Pellisson - Author
- Anne Lefèvre- Scholar
- Jean Bon Saint-André- Politician during the Revolution era
- Bernardo Gui - Inquisitor
- Philip of Montfort, Lord of Castres - Nobleman
- Boffille de Juge - Statesman
- Vincent Baron - Theologian
- Pierre de Fermat - Mathematician
- Kees Meeuws - Rugby union player
- Christophe Farnaud - French ambassador to Greece
- Hans Bellmer - Artist
Main sights
Castres is intersected from north to south by the river Agout. The river is fringed by old houses the upper stories of which project over its waters.
The church of Saint Benoît, once the cathedral of Castres, and the most important of the churches of Castres today, dates only from the 17th and 18th centuries. The city hall occupies the former bishop's palace, designed in the 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart (the architect of Versailles), and with gardens designed by André Le Nôtre (the designer of the gardens in Versailles). The Romanesque tower beside it (Tour Saint Benoît) is the only survival of the old Benedictine abbey. The town possesses some old mansions from the 16th and 17th century, including the Hôtel de Nayrac, of the Renaissance.
Castres possesses the renowned Goya Museum, created in 1840, which contains the largest collection of Spanish paintings in France. A Jaurès Museum was also opened in 1954 in the house where Jean Jaurès was born in 1859.
The Jardin botanique Pierre Fabre "La Michonne" is a private botanical garden and conservatory that can be visited.
Sports
As one might expect of a town of western
The finish of Stage 12 of the 2007 Tour de France was in Castres.
Education
Cinema
Castres is the place where a short film festival occurs each year.[8]
Medias
The city happened to see the birth of its first student radio (RADIOM) in 2007.[9]
Twin towns
Castres is
See also
- Castres-Mazamet Airport
- Communes of the Tarn department
- Tourism in Tarn
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ Goya Museum Archived 2009-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, Les amis des Musées de Castres.
- ^ a b Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Castres, EHESS (in French).
- ^ a b CA de Castres Mazamet (N° SIREN : 248100430), BANATIC, retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ Comparateur de territoire, INSEE
- ^ The Castres Short Film Festival
- ^ The student radio RADIOM
- ^ "Wakefield's twin towns". Wakefield City Council. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
- ^ "British towns twinned with French towns [via WaybackMachine.com]". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
External links
- City Hall of Castres official website (in French)
- Greater Castres-Mazamet Council official website (in French)
- Photographe maternité mariage Castres (in French)
- Chamber of Commerce of Castres-Mazamet (in French)
- Castres Olympique Rugby Club website (in French)
- See pictures from Antonio Mucherino's web site Archived 2012-03-03 at the Wayback Machine