Castelnaudary

Castelnaudary
Commune
A general view of Castelnaudary
Coat of arms
Location of Castelnaudary
Castelnaudary Castelnaudary
Coordinates:43°19′09″N1°57′16″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Carcassonne
Canton	Le Bassin chaurien
Intercommunality	Castelnaudary Lauraguais Audois
Government
• Mayor(2020–2026)	Patrick Maugard(PS)
Area 1	47.72 km2(18.42 sq mi)
Population (2021)	12,448
• Density	260/km2(680/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00(CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	11076/11400
Elevation	145–215 m (476–705 ft) (avg. 165 m or 541 ft)
1French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2(0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Castelnaudary(French:[kastɛlnodɑʁi];Occitan:Castèlnòu d'Arri) is acommunein theAudedepartmentin theOccitanieregionof southernFrance.It is located in the formerprovinceof theLauragaisand famous forcassouletof which it claims to be the world capital, and of which it is a major producer.

Geography

Castelnaudary is a market town, and the capital of the territory ofLauragais.The town is located 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast ofToulouse,about midway along the route from that city to theMediterranean.This route has been used since at least Roman times, and today carries road, motorway (A61), rail and canal links. Castelnaudary is the main port of theCanal du Midito which it owed a period of prosperity in the 17th century when agricultural and manufactured produce became easier to export. TheGrand Bassinin the town is at 7 ha the largest open area of water in the canal, and is today its major pleasure port.Castelnaudary stationhas rail connections to Toulouse, Carcassonne and Narbonne.

History

Roman staging post

In Roman times the location of the town was a staging post on the Narbonne-Toulouse road, and called Sostomagus.

Origin of the name

Castelnaudary comes from theOccitanCastèlnòu d'Arri— Latin translationCastellum Novum Arri— meaning "Arrius' new castle".

Major events

• 1103. First official mention of a settlement at Castelnaudary.
• 1211. During theAlbigensian Crusade,Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicesteris besieged in Castelnaudary by theCount of Toulouseand theCount of Foix.
• 1235. Arrival of thePapal inquisitionwhose initial attempts to identify and persecuteCatharswere unsuccessful due to the solidarity of the townsfolk.
• 31 October 1355. During theHundred Years' War,the town is sacked by theBlack Princewho travelling fromBordeaux,ravaged the weaker towns ofGasconyand then theLauragaisas far asNarbonne.The town was pillaged and the inhabitants massacred. The town's walls were not rebuilt until 10 years later.
• 1477. The town becomes the capital of thecomtéofLauragaisunderLouis XI of France.
• 1632. The capture ofHenri II de Montmorencyjust outside the town leads to his execution at Toulouse on the orders ofCardinal Richelieu.
• 15 May 1681. Commissioning of theCanal du Midi.
• 1754. Construction of L'Ile de la Cybèle.
• 1814.Marshal Soultwithdraws to the town after theBattle of Toulousebefore signing a final surrender atNaurouze.

Population

Its inhabitants are calledChauriens.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 7,871 — 1800 7,610 −0.48% 1806 7,924 +0.68% 1821 9,493 +1.21% 1831 9,886 +0.41% 1836 10,186 +0.60% 1841 9,993 −0.38% 1846 9,635 −0.73% 1851 9,992 +0.73% 1856 9,652 −0.69% 1861 9,584 −0.14% 1866 9,075 −1.09% 1872 9,328 +0.46% 1876 9,042 −0.78% 1881 10,059 +2.15% 1886 10,105 +0.09% 1891 10,059 −0.09% 1896 9,720 −0.68%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 9,397 −0.67% 1906 9,362 −0.07% 1911 9,542 +0.38% 1921 7,921 −1.84% 1926 7,891 −0.08% 1931 8,054 +0.41% 1936 8,246 +0.47% 1946 8,073 −0.21% 1954 8,765 +1.03% 1962 9,343 +0.80% 1968 9,936 +1.03% 1975 10,118 +0.26% 1982 10,750 +0.87% 1990 10,970 +0.25% 1999 10,851 −0.12% 2007 11,308 +0.52% 2012 11,748 +0.77% 2017 11,598 −0.26%
Source: EHESSand INSEE (1968-2017)

Sights

• L'Apothicairerie de l'Hôpital
• La Collégiale Saint-Michel
• Les Ecluses Saint-Roch
• LeGrand Bassin
• La Halle aux Grains
• L'Ile de la Cybèle.
• Le Moulin de Cugarel
• La Légion étrangère
• Le Présidial
• La Chapelle Notre-Dame de Pitié

• 
  Moulin de Cugarel
• 
  Canal du Midiin Castelnaudary

Personalities

Castelnaudary was the birthplace of:

• Pierre de Castelnaud. 1208
• Pierre-Jean Fabre(1588-1658), physician to King Louis XIII
• Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil(1643–1725)
• Joseph Martin-Dauch(1741–1801), the only deputy from theEstates Generalof the Third Estate known to have signed as 'opposant' from taking theTennis Court Oath,a major event of theFrench Revolution of 1789
• Jean François Aimé Dejean(1749-1824), army officer and minister of state in the service of theFirst French Republicand theFirst French Empire
• Antoine-François Andréossy(1761–1828)
• Antoine Marfan(1858–1942),pediatrician
• Georges Canguilhem(1904–1995),philosopherand member of theAcadémie françaisewho specialized in thephilosophy of science

Education

• École nationale de l'aviation civile

Military base

The4th Foreign Regimentof theFrench Armyhas been stationed in Castelnaudary since 1976, and the base is open to the public on 30 April (Camerone Day) and at Christmas.

Cassoulet

Castelnaudary styles itselfCapitale Mondiale du Cassoulet( "World Capital ofCassoulet") and the apocryphal legend of the genesis of this dish (originally calledestofat) relates that it was first served to the defenders of the town during the siege of 1355.

The town is home to La Grande Confrérie du Cassoulet de Castelnaudary (The Brotherhood of Castelnaudary's Cassoulet), an organization which seeks to promote and preserve the dish and its associated traditions. An annual festival celebrating cassoulet, "fête du Cassoulet", is held in the last full week of August; the town center is crowded with various versions of the traditional dish on that date.

The cassoulet variant favored in this town is based on the localharicot bean(which is the subject of aprotected statusapplication). It also includes goose orduck confit,pork, and Toulouse sausage.

Traditional peasant versions of the recipe can take two days or more to prepare. The traditional cooking vessel is an eponymous earthenware pot called a "cassole."

Rick Steinfeatured the Castelnaudary cassoulet in an episode ofRick Stein's French Odysseyand his recipe was published byBBC Food.

References

• Catlos, Brian (2004).The Rough Guide to Languedoc and Roussillon.Rough Guides.pp. 107–110.ISBN1-84353-244-1.
• André, Jacques (2003).Guide du Canal du Midi.Vert-Azur. pp. 107–113.ISBN2-911793-01-3.

External links

• Castelnaudary(in French)
• Castelnaudary Tourisme(in French)