Pamiers
Encyclopedia
Pamiers 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 Ariège
Ariège
Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....

 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. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Although Pamiers is the largest city in Ariège, the capital is the smaller town of Foix
Foix
Foix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...

. The seat of the Bishop of Pamiers is at the Pamiers Cathedral,

Geography

Pamiers is located on the Ariège River
Ariège River
The Ariège is a 164 km long river in southern France, right tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the Pyrenees, where it forms part of the border with Andorra...

.

The town of Pamiers is famous for its three bell towers and for being the birthplace of Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...

, one of the greatest late 19th beginning 20th century French musicians and composers. It also boasts awards for Ville fleurie, the equivalent of "town in bloom".
Local facilities include good restaurants, bars, supermarkets, large public indoor and outdoor swimming pools (one of which is 50m).

Pamiers lies in an ancient alluvial plain of the Ariège River
Ariège River
The Ariège is a 164 km long river in southern France, right tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the Pyrenees, where it forms part of the border with Andorra...

 in the area called La Basse Ariège, noted for its rich fertile soil ideal for agriculture. Pamiers has 17,000 inhabitants, the Appaméens, and is the economical capital of the Ariège, being the most important town in the department.

The town itself dates back to the 5th century. The origin of its name is subject to debate. A certain school of linguists tends to believe that it was derived from the fact that, when Pamiers was founded, its new inhabitants were given land parcels measured in pams, from empan (from the Latin "pannus" meaning "piece of cloth"). Originally it was called Ville de Pams. Another explanation is one involving Roger II de Foix, who had gone to a crusade in the region of Apamea
Apamea (Syria)
Apamea was a treasure city and stud-depot of the Seleucid kings, was capital of Apamene, on the right bank of the Orontes River. . Its site is found about to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley...

 in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 and who, upon his return to France, gave his castle and domain the name of one of his battles: Castrum Appamiae, name later on given to the town. The fact that Pamiers' inhabitants are called Appaméens would seem to favour this hypothesis. In the 18th century a plural stance on the word was introduced making the name "Apamias" derived from ecclesiastical language and also similar to the Occitan language. The Occitan name "Pamias" can be seen on the town sign, alongside the French name Pamiers, as one enters the town via the old route from Toulouse, RN20.

The main square of Pamiers, Place de la République, is paved in red marble. Every week, three large open-air farmers' markets are held, plus a flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...

 every Sunday morning. Nearby are the old Tour des Cordeliers and the large Church of Notre-Dame-du-Camp.

Population

Personalities

Pamiers was the birthplace or hometown of:
  • Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier
    Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier
    Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier was a French politician of the French Revolution.-Early career:Son of a wealthy family in Pamiers, Ariège, he served in the army of the king Louis XV, taking part in the Seven Years' War and the Battle of Rossbach on 5 November 1757...

     (1736-1828), politician at the time of the French Revolution
  • Gabriel Fauré
    Gabriel Fauré
    Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...

     (1845-1924), composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

  • Théophile Delcassé
    Théophile Delcassé
    Théophile Delcassé was a French statesman.-Biography:He was born at Pamiers, in the Ariège département...

     (1852-1923), statesman
    Statesman
    A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

  • Pope Benedict XII
    Pope Benedict XII
    Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

    , (ca. 1280-1342), bishop of Pamiers in the 1320s
  • Swanne Gauthier, basketball player

See also

  • 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment
    1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment
    The 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment is an airborne unit of the French Army. It was the first French parachute regiment and is today part of the 11th Parachute Brigade.-Organisation:*Command and Logistic “Yellow” Company*Support and Lightning “Blue” Company...

    , a regiment based in the commune
  • Communes of the Ariège department
  • County of Foix
    County of Foix
    The County of Foix was an independent medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern département of Ariège ....

  • List of medieval bridges in France

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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