Carcassonne
Carcassona (Occitan) | |
|---|---|
Prefecture and commune | |
 Aerial photograph of the Cité de Carcassonne | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Carcassonne  | |
  Carcassonne  Carcassonne | |
| Coordinates: 43°13′N 2°21′E / 43.21°N 2.35°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitania |
| Department | Aude |
| Arrondissement | Carcassonne |
| Canton | Carcassonne-1, 2 and 3 |
| Intercommunality | Carcassonne Agglo |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Gérard Larrat[1] (DVD) |
| Area 1 | 65.08 km2 (25.13 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 46,218 |
| • Density | 710/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 11069 /11000 |
| Elevation | 81–250 m (266–820 ft) (avg. 111 m or 364 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Carcassonne[a] is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic Period, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aude between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognised by the Romans, who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire. In the fifth century, the region of Septimania was taken over by the Visigoths, who founded the city of Carcassonne in the newly established Visigothic Kingdom.
Its citadel, known as the Cité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress dating back to the Gallo-Roman period and restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc between 1853 and 1879. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 because of the exceptional preservation and restoration of the medieval citadel.[6] Consequently, Carcassonne relies heavily on tourism but also counts manufacturing and winemaking as some of its other key economic sectors.[7]
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Carcassonne". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
- ^ "Carcassonne". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Carcassonne". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne". UNESCO. Accessed 13 February 2014.
- ^ "Carcassonne may have a grisly history, but today it's a ravishing hilltop fortress". Daily Times. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
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