Axat

Axat

Coat of arms
Axat

Coordinates: 42°48′16″N 2°14′10″E / 42.8044°N 2.2361°E / 42.8044; 2.2361Coordinates: 42°48′16″N 2°14′10″E / 42.8044°N 2.2361°E / 42.8044; 2.2361
Country France
Region Occitanie
Department Aude
Arrondissement Limoux
Canton Axat
Intercommunality Canton of Axat
Government
 • Mayor (1989–2020) Marcel Martinez
Area1 11.77 km2 (4.54 sq mi)
Population (2010)2 640
 • Density 54/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 11021 / 11140
Elevation 394–1,330 m (1,293–4,364 ft)
(avg. 398 m or 1,306 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.

Axat (Atsat in Occitan) is a French commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Axatois or Axatoises.[1]

Geography

Axat is located in Cathar country at the doors of the Aude Pyrenees some 45 km west by north-west of Perpignan and 10 km south-east of Quillan. Access to the commune is by the D117 road from Belvianes-et-Cavirac in the north which passes east through the top of the commune and continues to Caudiès-de-Fenouillèdes. Access to the village is by the D118 which branches from the D117 in the north of the commune and goes south to the village then continues south through the length of the commune before turning west to follow a mountain ridge to Puyvalador. The commune is alpine in nature with extensive forests and rugged terrain. The village is in a valley in the north of the commune.[2]

Axat is a pretty tourist town situated in the high valley of the Aude. Surrounded by mountains and gorges, the narrowest Gorge of Saint Georges is only 3 km away. The River Aude is in a picturesque setting and is a popular whitewater sports location. There are 300 metres of fly fishing stretches where the quality of oxygen in the water attracts salmon and trout.

A 100-year-old railway: the Carcassonne to Rivesaltes tourist railway (Train du pays Cathare et du Fenouillèdes) passes through the commune between Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet and Quillan with a station just west of the village. It links Axat to Rivesaltes with 60 km of track running over impressive viaducts and through tunnels on open air carriages.

The Aude river flows through the length of the commune from south to north then continues north-west at the start of its journey to the Mediterranean Sea. Many tributaries rise in the commune on both banks and flow into the Aude including the Ruisseau d'Artigues (which rises in Artigues), the Ruisseeau de Seilles, and many other unnamed streams.[2]

Neighbouring communes and villages[2]

 Cailla Saint-Martin-Lys
Artigues Lapradelle-Puilaurens
   Axat  
Le Clat Sainte-Colombe-sur-Guette Salvezines

Toponymy

View of the Aude in Axat

In ancient times the Aude basin did not belong to the Sordones but to other iron producers inhabiting Atax country: the Atacini who made swords as well as axes. The nearest village to the Sordones and part of the land occupied by the Aticini was called Axat and this name, which is a simple inversion of Atax marks the exact point of division between the two tribes of Sordones and Atacini.

History

The Barony became a Marquisate in 1776 according to Eric Thiou[3] and was extinguished in 1788.[4] It became a courtesy title borrowed by Philippe du Puy de Clinchamps.[5]

Heraldry

 Blazon:

Argent, a fesse Vert, in chief three square lozenges the same.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors[6]

From To Name Party Position
1947 1971 Emile Gorse
1971 1983 Alexandre Raynaud
1983 1985 Jean Paul Raynaud
1985 1989 Yves Ipavec
1989 2020 Marcel Martinez

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 640 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 communes that have a sample survey every year.[Note 1]

Population Change (See database)
1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851
284 335 361 411 546 582 278 594 540
1856 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896
538 529 458 452 444 425 450 454 558
1901 1906 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954
838 695 912 863 968 1,010 901 930 1,006
1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2010 -
993 997 911 1,021 919 832 711 640 -

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

The Gorge of Saint Georges at the end of the 19th century

Culture and heritage

The railway viaduct in 1910

Civil heritage

Religious heritage

The Church of the Assumption of Notre-Dame, built in 1630, contains a Statue: the Immaculate Conception (17th century) which is registered as an historical object[7]

The New Provisional Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:

Local life

Sports

There is also an outdoor swimming pool which is open from June to September with great mountain views.

Notable people linked to the commune

The Marquis of Dax of Axat (1767-1847)

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 3 Google Maps
  3. ↑ Éric Thiou, Dictionary of titles and land titles in France under the Ancien Régime, éditions Mémoire et Documents, Versailles, 2003, (p.58) (French)
  4. ↑ Gustave Chaix d'Est-Ange, Dictionary of ancient French families and notables at the end of the 19th century, vol. 13 (French)
  5. ↑ Charondas, What title?, vol. 36, 1970 (French)
  6. ↑ List of Mayors of France (French)
  7. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11002546 Statue: the Immaculate Conception (French)
  8. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001718 Statue: Saint John the Evangelist (French)
  9. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001717 Statue: Virgin, with pedestal (French)
  10. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000603 Painting: Saint Michel vanquishing the demon (French)
  11. ↑ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000602 Painting: The Assumption (French)
  12. ↑ Rugby website Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (French)
  13. ↑ Rugby website Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (French)
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