Lavaur, Tarn
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2007) |
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Commune of Lavaur |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Department | Tarn |
| Arrondissement | Castres |
| Canton | Canton of Lavaur (chief town) |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes Tarn et Agout |
| Mayor | Bernard Carayon (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 105 m–274 m (avg. 141 m) |
| Land area¹ | 62.83 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
8,537 |
| - Density | 135/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 81140/ 81500 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Lavaur is a town and commune of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the Tarn département, 37 m. S.E. of Montauban by rail.
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[edit] History
Lavaur was taken in 1211 by Simon de Montfort during the wars of the Albigenses, and several times during the religious wars of the 16th century.
[edit] Geography
Lavaur stands on the left bank of the Agout, which is here crossed by a railway-bridge and a fine stone bridge of the late 18th century.
[edit] Demographics
Population:
- 1906: town 4,069; commune 6,388
- 1999: commune 8,537.
[edit] Sights
From 1317 till the French Revolution Lavaur was the seat of a bishopric; Lavaur Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Alan, was built for this purpose, dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, with an octagonal bell-tower. A second, smaller square tower contains a jaquemart (a statue which strikes the hours with a hammer) of the 16th century. In the bishops garden is the statue of Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases, one of the companions of Napoleon at Saint Helena.
[edit] Economy
The town carries on distilling and flour-milling and the manufacture of brushes, plaster and wooden shoes.
[edit] Miscellaneous
There is a subprefecture and a tribunal of first instance (a lower Court of Justice).
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] See also
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