Aragon, Aude

Aragon

General View of Aragon

Coat of arms
Aragon

Coordinates: 43°17′49″N 2°18′55″E / 43.2969°N 2.3153°E / 43.2969; 2.3153Coordinates: 43°17′49″N 2°18′55″E / 43.2969°N 2.3153°E / 43.2969; 2.3153
Country France
Region Occitanie
Department Aude
Arrondissement Carcassonne
Canton Alzonne
Intercommunality Carcassonne Agglo
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Didier Sie
Area1 20.56 km2 (7.94 sq mi)
Population (2009)2 426
 • Density 21/km2 (54/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 11011 / 11600
Elevation 136–346 m (446–1,135 ft)
(avg. 190 m or 620 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Aragon (Occitan: Argon) is a French commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aragonais or Aragonaises[1]

Geography

Aragon is a commune in the Carcassonne urban area on the Green Meridian in Cabardès. The village is built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Trapel and Vallette streams.

The commune is located some 13 km north of Carcassonne and 6 km east of Montolieu. Access is by the D203 road from Fraisse-Cabardès in the north-west passing through the length of the commune to the village then continuing south to Pennautier. There is also the D935 going south-east from the village to Villegailhenc. The north of the commune is quite rugged and heavily forested while the south of the commune is farmland with some patches of forest.

The Ruisseau de Trapel flows from the north-west passing north of the village and gathering tributaries as it continues south-east to join the Canal du Midi south of Les Pradels. The Ruisseau de la Vallette also flows from further north-west to pass the village on the southern side before joining the Trapel. Numerous other streams rise in the south of the commune and flow south-east. In the north-east the Ruisseau de Vallouviere flows south-east and joins the Trapel south-east of the commune.[2]

Neighbouring communes and villages[2]

 Fraisse-Cabardes Villardonnel Salsigne
Montolieu Villegly
   Aragon  
Ventenac-Cabardes Pennautier Villegailhenc

Toponymy

The town is also known as Aragon-en-Cabardès but this name is not so easy to use. The name could come from the Kingdom of Aragon and dates from the 11th century but some propose Celtic or Greco-Celtic origins meaning a place near a battle or near the wilderness.

Other Places: Champ du Saule, Clapier d'Amen, Clapier Rouge, l'Espinal, la Croix du Carabier, Larjale, le Malrégas, les Précieuses, Mont Feste, Mourrel de la Crose, Mourrel Redon, Pechicous, Plateau d'Aragon, and Pratjon.

History

There are remains from the Bronze Age (2000 BC) which were found in a cave. In 1820 a fragment with a Gallo-Roman funerary inscription was discovered.

In the 10th century Aragon belonged to the Abbey of Montolieu but, from the beginning of the 12th century, traces of the Lords of Aragon have been found. They then had large areas of land but they seem to have followed the Cathar cause. They were thus deprived of their property by the Inquisition although they received financial compensation. Their fief was then shared between the Royal Domain and the bishopric of Carcassonne but, even without the protection of lords, Catharism still survived in the village.

Aragon Village

In 1575 and in 1588 the Huguenots occupied the village. The Viscount of Turenne recaptured it in 1580.

The village experienced a period of prosperity in the late 18th century when looms for supplying the clothiers at Carcassonne brought additional revenue to the community.

In the 17th century, the lordship of Aragon belonged to Sebastian de Maurel, whose daughter, Anne de Maurel d'Aragon, was married in 1726 at Aragon to Pierre de Bancalis, giving birth to the noble family Bancalis de Maurel d'Aragon.

Heraldry

 Blazon:

Argent, a bend of Sable.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors[3]

Mayors from 1929
From To Name Party Position
1929 1965 Paul Blanc
1965 1995 André Bru
1995 2008 Serge Loubet
2008 2014 Bernard Bru
2014 2020 Didier Sie

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2009 the commune had 426 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.[Note 1]

Population Change (See database)
1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851
427 580 621 708 707 694 704 676 664
1856 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896
647 613 597 604 620 623 524 465 460
1901 1906 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954
496 499 475 457 469 454 431 374 355
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2009 -
334 304 306 374 389 453 445 426 -

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

A Vineyard at Aragon

Economy

Aragon is part of the Cabardès AOC

Culture and heritage

The Chateau

Civil heritage

Religious heritage

Two sites are registered as historical monuments:

See also

External links

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ↑ At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by Law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002, the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" allows, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

  1. ↑ Inhabitants of Aude (French)
  2. 1 2 Google Maps
  3. ↑ List of Mayors of France
  4. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102536 Chateau (French)
  5. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102535 Wayside Cross (French)
  6. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA11000065 Church of Sainte-Marie (French)
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