Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne

Saint-Gaudens (Gascon: Sent Gaudenç) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is the capital of the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens and of the canton of Saint-Gaudens.

Saint-Gaudens

Collégiale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Gaudens.jpg
Church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Gaudens
Coat of arms of Saint-Gaudens
Administration
Country France
Region Midi-Pyrénées
Department Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement Saint-Gaudens
Canton Saint-Gaudens
Intercommunality Saint-Gaudinois
Mayor Jean-Yves Duclos[1]
(2014–2020)
Statistics
Elevation 338–558 m (1,109–1,831 ft)
(avg. 372 m/1,220 ft)
Land area1 27.4 km2 (10.6 sq mi)
Population2 11,255  (2014)
 - Density 411/km2 (1,060/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 31483/ 31800
Website www.stgo.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.

History

 
Garden in the cloister of Saint-Gaudens

In antiquity, the present place of the city was near a Roman road between Toulouse and Dax, where there was a rural area called Mansus; Mansus was named later as Mas Saint-Pierre after the Christianization of the region.

In 475, a young Christian boy, Gaudens, was killed by the Visigoths and he was buried in this place. The town took its current name in the ninth century, because may people came here to worship the martyr; the relics of Gaudens were deposited in the church of Mas-Saint-Pierre.

As an important regional market place, Saint-Gaudens became the economic capital of the Comminges (a natural region and an old French region on the hills at the base of the Pyrenees).[2]

Geography

The city of Saint-Gaudens is in the Comminges, at the foot of the Pyrenees. It is about 90 km (56 mi) to the southwest of Toulouse and at about 70 km (43 mi) from Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées).

It is found on the left side of the Garonne river.

The commune has an area of 27.4 km2 (10.6 sq mi),[3] and its average altitude is 372 m (1,220 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 401 m (1,316 ft).[4]

Saint-Gaudens and its neighboring communes
 

Climate

The climate of Saint-Gaudens, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.

Climate data for Saint-Gaudens
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 10.1
(50.2)
11.1
(52)
15.2
(59.4)
17.3
(63.1)
20.3
(68.5)
24.6
(76.3)
26.3
(79.3)
26.4
(79.5)
24.1
(75.4)
20.5
(68.9)
13.9
(57)
9.6
(49.3)
18.1
(64.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.2
(41.4)
5.6
(42.1)
9.2
(48.6)
11.8
(53.2)
15.2
(59.4)
19.5
(67.1)
21.0
(69.8)
21.0
(69.8)
18.3
(64.9)
14.9
(58.8)
9.1
(48.4)
5.0
(41)
12.9
(55.2)
Average low °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)
0.1
(32.2)
3.1
(37.6)
6.3
(43.3)
10.0
(50)
14.3
(57.7)
15.7
(60.3)
15.6
(60.1)
12.5
(54.5)
9.2
(48.6)
4.2
(39.6)
0.5
(32.9)
7.5
(45.5)
Precipitation mm (inches) 70.7
(2.783)
45.3
(1.783)
68.9
(2.713)
106.7
(4.201)
94.8
(3.732)
47.0
(1.85)
33.8
(1.331)
52.8
(2.079)
61.8
(2.433)
51.6
(2.031)
69.6
(2.74)
71.2
(2.803)
764.6
(30.102)
Source: Meteo-climat June 2014

Population

 
Bell tower of the Collégiale St Pierre et St Gaudens

The inhabitants of Saint-Gaudens are known, in French, as Saint-Gaudinois (women: Saint-Gaudinoises).[5]

Saint-Gaudens has a population, in 2014, of 11,255,[6] for a population density of 410.8 inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Saint-Gaudens

Administration

Saint-Gaudens is a subprefecture of the Haute-Garonne department, the capital of the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens and the administrative centre (French: chef-lieu) of the canton of Saint-Gaudens.

It is part of the intercommunality Cœur et Coteaux de Comminges (French: Communauté de communes Cœur et Coteaux de Comminges).

Sister cities

Saint-Gaudens is twinned with:

Sites of interest

Some important buildings are:

  • The Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Gaudens church
  • The Saint-Jacques chapelle
  • The Cloister (part of the cloister that remains of the old Bonnefond abbey)

References

  1. "Le Conseil Municipal" (in French). Mairie de Saint-Gaudens. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  2. "Histoire et patrimoine". Saint-Gaudens - Office de Tourisme. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  3. "Commune de Saint-Gaudens (31483)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 13 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  4. "Saint-Gaudens". Map-France.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  5. "Habitants du départment: Haute-Garonne (31)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  6. "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 13 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

Related pages

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