| Ariège | |
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| Coat of arms of the Ariège department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 09 |
| Region: | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Prefecture: | Foix |
| Subprefectures: | Pamiers Saint-Girons |
| Arrondissements: | 3 |
| Cantons: | 22 |
| Communes: | 332 |
| President of the General Council: | Augustin Bonrepaux PS |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 96th |
| -1999 | 137,205 |
| Population density: | 28/km² |
| Land area¹: | 4890 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². The term administration, as used in the context of Government, differs according to Jurisdiction. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Midi-Pyrénées ( Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus or Mieidia-Pirenèus) is the largest region of Metropolitan France by area larger A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' Foix (fwa is a commune, the capital of the Ariège département in France. Subprefectures (sous-préfectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. Pamiers is a commune in the Ariège département in southwestern France. Saint-Girons is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The 3 arrondissements of the Ariège department are Arrondissement of Foix, ( prefecture of the Ariège department The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The following is a list of the 22 cantons of the Ariège department, in France, sorted by arrondissement: Arrondissement The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The following is a list of the 332 communes of the Ariège département in France. In France, the President of the General Council (French Président du conseil général) is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly The Socialist Party ( Parti Socialiste, PS is the largest left-wing political party in France. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here areas between 1000 km2 and 10000 km2 An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open | |
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Ariège (Occitan: Arièja) is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River. Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Ariège is a 164 km long River in southern France, right tributary of the Garonne.
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History
Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans. Foix (fwa is a commune, the capital of the Ariège département in France. Couserans (pronounced /kuzəʀɑ̃/ in French) ( Gascon: Coseran, pronounced /kuzeˈɾa/ is a small former Province of France
Foix is the administrative capital of the Ariege and 2 other major towns are Pamiers and Mirepoix. Foix is an ancient medieval town with a fine fortress perched on a hill above the town, called Chateau de Foix. The fortress has been attacked many times, including by Simon de Montfort, without anyone succeeding to capture it and it has also been used as a prison. The names of English Prisoners of War can still be seen on the old cell walls. Another famous chateau is Montsegur, spectacularly located on a rocky outcrop at a height of 1200 metres (3900 ft). The present ruin at Montségur is not actually the work of the Cathars. During the siege of 1244 the chateau was largely destroyed and the fortress was largely rebuilt in the second half of the 13th century. The chateau has a painful past for after the fall of the chateau in 1244, more than 200 Cathar priests were burnt at the stake as heretics due to their alternative Christian (Cathar)faith.
Of the other towns in the Ariege, Pamiers offers a large commercial centre and 3 fine churches, Mirepoix is a beautiful medieval town, St Girons is a fine agricultural centre with one of the best markets (on Saturdays) in south west France. St Lizier is a very picturesque medieval hilltop town with winding streets and fine views. The cloisters in the church are definitely worth seeing.
Geography
The department is part of the current region of Midi-Pyrénées and is surrounded by the French departments of Haute-Garonne, Aude, and Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as Spain and Andorra on the south. Midi-Pyrénées ( Occitan: Miègjorn-Pirenèus or Mieidia-Pirenèus) is the largest region of Metropolitan France by area larger Haute-Garonne ( Occitan: Nauta Garona; English: Upper Garonne) is a department in the southwest of France named after the Aude ( Occitan: Aude) is a department in south-central France named after the Aude River. Pyrénées-Orientales (Eastern Pyrenees Pirineus Orientals Pirenèus Orientals is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra ( Catalan: Principat d'Andorra) is a small Landlocked country in western
The geography is dominated by the Pyrenees mountains, which form the border between France and Spain. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés There are hundreds of miles of well marked paths which lead you to explore the magnificent Pyrenees mountains. The high mountains are easily accessible via good roads, cable cars or by foot. There are a number of lodges providing high level mountain accommodation that is comfortable, warm with good meals, at 2000m!
There are also a number of fresh water lakes which provide a variety of activities including, walking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, sailboarding and also picnicing.
The Ariege has several of its own downhill ski resorts, the three largest being Ax-Bonascre, Les Monts D'Olmes and Guzet. There are many cross country ski-ing resorts, one of the best being at Plateau de Beille, near Les Cabannes.
The Pyrenees mountain range forms a fantastic backdrop to the entire Ariege Department, rising some 10000 feet (3000m) along the border with Andorra and Spain. The highest peaks are clearly visible visible from Toulouse in the Haute Garonne. It is one of the least populated and most unspoiled regions of France. The locals enjoy keeping old traditions alive, especially farming techniques. Consequently, as less insecticides, for example, have been used, the flora and fauna of the area are rich in diversity and number. Butterflies are seen in huge numbers, birds are numerous, particularly noticeable are the large birds of prey, including the magnificent Griffon vultures.
There are also many unspoiled villages and hamlets tucked away in the valleys close to the department's border with Spain, such as Seix, Cominac and Aulus Les Bain, and picturesque mountain villages, most notably Aleu which comes alive in the holiday season.
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Ariégeois.
The Ariege department is a largely unknown department which is situated next to the Aude in the most southern part of the Midi-Pyrenees department and shares its borders with the Aude, Andorra, Haute Garonne and the Pyrenees Orientales. This is predominantly a farming area as the soil is rich and fertile and yet more than 50% of the Ariège is mountainous, with 490 965 hectares is covered by forests.
Culture
The region was originally part of Aquitaine and has retained many hallmarks of the Gascon culture and Gascon language. Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of Gascon (Gascon; French,) is a dialect of the Occitan language. Gascon (Gascon; French,) is a dialect of the Occitan language. It voted 59% in favour of the left-wing during the first round of the 2007 presidential election. The 2007 French presidential election, the ninth of the Fifth French Republic was held to elect the successor to Jacques Chirac as president of France
See also
- Cantons of the Ariège department
- Communes of the Ariège department
- Arrondissements of the Ariège department
External links
- (French)Conseil general website
- (French)Prefecture website
- (French)http://www.ariege.com/
- (English)http://www.ariege-discovery.com/Ariege.htm
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