Cahors

Cahors
	Cahors
	Valentré bridge
Flag of Cahors	Coat of arms
	Cahors
Administration
Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Lot
Arrondissement	Cahors
Canton	Chief town of 3 cantons
Intercommunality	Grand Cahors
Mayor	Jean-Marc Vayssouze-Faure (PS); (2014-2020)
Statistics
Elevation	105–332 m (344–1,089 ft); (avg. 122 m/400 ft)
Land area1	72.48 km2 (27.98 sq mi)
Population2	20,224 (2011)
- Density	279/km2 (720/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	46042/ 46000
Website	www.mairie-cahors.fr
	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.

Coordinates: 44°26′54″N 1°26′29″E / 44.4483°N 1.4414°E

Cahors (Occitan: Caors) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, it is the prefecture (capital) of the Lot department. It is also the capital of 3 cantons: Cahors-Nord-Est, Cahors-Nord-Ouest and Cahors-Sud.

Cahors was the capital of the old province of Quercy and the people of this city are known, in French, as cadurciens (women: cadurciennes); this name comes from the old name of the city, Carduca.^[1]

History

Cahors is a very ancient town. The people that inhabited the area at the time of the Roman conquest were called Carduci and so the Romans named the town as Divona or Divona Cadurcorum, "Divona of the Cadurci"; Divona was a source of water, now called "fontaine des Chartreux". The word Cahors comes from Cadurcorum.

Geography

Cahors is located in the southwest of France, in the old province of Quercy, in the valley of the Lot river, and is found in a peninsula (French: presqu'île) formed by an U-shaped meander of that river which gives its name to the department.

It has an area of 72.48 km² (27.98 sq mi) and its average altitude is 219 m (719 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 122 m (400 ft).^[2]

With a population of 20,224,^[3] its population density is of 279 inhabitants/km².

The commune is at 115 km (71 mi) north of Toulouse and is surrounded by the communes Mercuès, Calamane, Pradines, Arcambal, Lamagdelaine, Laroque-des-Arcs, Trespoux-Rassiels, Labastide-Marnhac, Le Montat and Flaujac-Poujols.

Places of interest

Cahors Cathedral

Some places of interest are:

Pont Valentré (Valentré Bridge, Occitan: Pont de Balandras), a symbol of the town across the Lot river. It was built between 1308 and 1378.^[4]
Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors (Cahors Cathedral), a national monument in France.
Arc de Diane (Diane's Arch), remains of Roman baths.
Saint-Barthélémy Church (14th century).
Maison Henri IV or Hôtel de Roaldès (15th century).