Labège
Encyclopedia
Labège is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...

 department in the Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity...

 region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 in southwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Geography

Labège ia a commune in the metropolitan area of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. Its urban core is located in the southeast suburbs of Toulouse along the Autoroute des Deux Mers (A61)
A61 autoroute
The A61 autoroute is a French motorway forming part of the Autoroute de Deux Mers.It connects Narbonne in Toulouse, where becomes the A62 towards Bordeaux. It also has junctions with the A64 towards Bayonne and A68 towards Albi on the outskirts of Toulouse. It is totally a toll road and operated...

 towards Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...

. The adjoining communes are Saint-Orens-de-Gameville
Saint-Orens-de-Gameville
Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, also referred to as Saint-Orens, is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabtitants are called Saint-Orennais.-References:*...

, Auzielle
Auzielle
Auzielle is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabitants are called Auziellois.-References:*...

, Escalquens
Escalquens
Escalquens is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

, Castanet-Tolosan
Castanet-Tolosan
Castanet-Tolosan is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

, Auzeville-Tolosane
Auzeville-Tolosane
Auzeville-Tolosane is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southwestern France.-Population:The inhabitants are called the Auzevillois.-International relations:...

, and Ramonville-Saint-Agne
Ramonville-Saint-Agne
Ramonville-Saint-Agne is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

.

History

The name "Labège" may be derived from La Berge ("The Bank") because of the town's location on the banks of the Hers-Mort
Hers-Mort
The Hers-Mort is a 90 km long river in southern France, a right-bank tributary of the Garonne. Its average flow rate is 4 m3/s. The Hers-Mort rises in the Lauragais region, near the village Fonters-du-Razès, in the Aude department...

.

Some Roman remains can be seen in Labège; but in Roman times no actual village existed here, only a few scattered homes along the thoroughfare between Baziège
Baziège
Baziège is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:*...

 and Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...

. Even in the Middle Ages, the settlement was sparse. Fourteenth century documents mention a Labège manor, which was owned by the College of Saint Front de Perigord for the next four centuries, but only toward the end of the Renaissance did the village proper begin to take shape around the parish church.

Mayors

  • curé Druilhe (28 February 1790 – 26 June 1790)
  • Claude Ducert (March 2001 – March 2008) Socialist Party
    Socialist Party (France)
    The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

  • Christian Lavigne (March 2008 – 2014) Socialist Party


The commune is part of the third constituency of Haute-Garonne.

Population

Economy

Labége is made up of two sharply contrasted districts. To the southeast is Labège Village, the residential area, with most of the homes, local shops, a gymnasium, day-care, and the largest pétanque
Pétanque
Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...

 club in the vicinity. To the northwest towards Toulouse is the economic center of the commune, Labège Innopole, incorporating the Labège 2 shopping centre, the Gaumont Multiplex movie theatre, and many restaurants, businesses, laboratories and Institutions. A green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...

 separates the two districts.

Sights

  • The fountains of Saint-Sernin and Laurier, known for their healing waters. According to legend, during his journey from Narbonne to Toulouse, St. Sernin stopped to quench his thirst at the fountain which now bears his name, and blessed it with curative powers.
  • The Church of Saint-Barthélémy. Mention is made of an earlier church on this site in 1232. A second church of 1518-1570 was destroyed by the Huguenot
    Huguenot
    The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

    s. Its successor stood until it was destroyed by fire in the nineteenth century. The present church dates from 1860.
  • Place Saint-Barthélémy with its mansion, its sundial, its café and its imposing fountain sculpture.
  • The pigeonnier
    Dovecote
    A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...

     du Bouysset, dating from the eighteenth century: registered as an historic monument
    Monument historique
    A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...

     since 11 July 1977.
  • The Maison Salvan, a cultural centre devoted to exploring the interface between art and science.
  • The largest pétanque
    Pétanque
    Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet or jack. It is also sometimes called a bouchon or le petit...

    club in the area.
  • The war memorial near the cemetery.
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