Saint-Gaudens
Encyclopedia
Saint-Gaudens is a commune
and a sub-prefecture of the Haute-Garonne
department in southwestern France
.
Saint-Gaudens lies at an altitude of 405 m on a ledge overlooking the valley of the Garonne. It faces the Pyrenees and is a natural crossroads for routes between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and between Toulouse
and the Val d'Aran
in Spain.
The town later developed around the 11th century Romanesque church. It was granted its city charter in 1202 and became the capital of the Nébouzan area, protected by solid ramparts. As an important regional marketplace, Saint-Gaudens became the economic capital of the Comminges.
The town was damaged by Protestant forces under Montgomery in 1569, and became the seat of the Nébouzan Assembly after coming under the control of the French crown in 1607. The name was changed briefly to "Mont-Unité" during the Revolution and the area later became part of the Haute-Garonne départment.
Saint-Gaudens is proud of the heritage of its rich past and has become a dynamic and attractive economic and cultural centre.
The Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Gaudens, with its cloister and chapter house, this was one of the most important religious buildings in the Comminges.
It was home to a college of canons ordinary, a community founded by Bishop Bertrand.
The 11th century romanesque church, built on the typical Pyrenean plan as a basilica with a nave and two aisles, stands on the site of an earlier construction.
It was extended in the 12th and 13th centuries with the construction of the cloister and chapter house. The lateral north door was added in the 16th century.
Several tall buildings are reminders of the city's mediaeval period, with plain façades to which balconies were added at the end of the 19th century. Other buildings, including some town houses, date back to the 18th century, and are decorated with stone carvings. Some buildings have façades with pediments, friezes and cornices, mouldings and gabled dormer windows. On Boulevard Bepmale, the façades that face the Sun, with a view of the Pyrenees, have balconies and galleries up to their very top floors.
team playing in the French Championship
, the Saint-Gaudens Bears.
The Open International Féminin Midi-Pyrénées Saint-Gaudens Comminges
, an ITF Women's Circuit
tennis tournament, is held in Saint-Gaudens.
, France
Barbastro
, Spain
Vielha e Mijaran
, Spain
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...
and a sub-prefecture of 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 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...
.
Saint-Gaudens lies at an altitude of 405 m on a ledge overlooking the valley of the Garonne. It faces the Pyrenees and is a natural crossroads for routes between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and between 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...
and the Val d'Aran
Val d'Aran
The Val d'Aran is a valley in the Pyrenees mountains and a comarca in the northwestern part of the province of Lleida, in Catalonia, northern Spain. Most of the valley constitutes the only part of Spain, and of Catalonia, on the north face of the Pyrenees, hence the only part of Catalonia whose...
in Spain.
History
It has been inhabited since ancient times (traces of the Iron Age and of Roman occupation) and was originally called Mas-Saint-Pierre, before taking the name of the young shepherd, Gaudens, martyred by the Visigoths at the end of the 5th century for refusing to renounce his faith.The town later developed around the 11th century Romanesque church. It was granted its city charter in 1202 and became the capital of the Nébouzan area, protected by solid ramparts. As an important regional marketplace, Saint-Gaudens became the economic capital of the Comminges.
The town was damaged by Protestant forces under Montgomery in 1569, and became the seat of the Nébouzan Assembly after coming under the control of the French crown in 1607. The name was changed briefly to "Mont-Unité" during the Revolution and the area later became part of the Haute-Garonne départment.
Saint-Gaudens is proud of the heritage of its rich past and has become a dynamic and attractive economic and cultural centre.
Population
Sights
It was home to a college of canons ordinary, a community founded by Bishop Bertrand.
The 11th century romanesque church, built on the typical Pyrenean plan as a basilica with a nave and two aisles, stands on the site of an earlier construction.
It was extended in the 12th and 13th centuries with the construction of the cloister and chapter house. The lateral north door was added in the 16th century.
Several tall buildings are reminders of the city's mediaeval period, with plain façades to which balconies were added at the end of the 19th century. Other buildings, including some town houses, date back to the 18th century, and are decorated with stone carvings. Some buildings have façades with pediments, friezes and cornices, mouldings and gabled dormer windows. On Boulevard Bepmale, the façades that face the Sun, with a view of the Pyrenees, have balconies and galleries up to their very top floors.
Sport
St Gaudens has a Rugby LeagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
team playing in the French Championship
French rugby league championship
The French rugby league championship has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France and Monaco since the sport was introduced to the country in the thirties....
, the Saint-Gaudens Bears.
The Open International Féminin Midi-Pyrénées Saint-Gaudens Comminges
Open International Féminin Midi-Pyrénées Saint-Gaudens Comminges
The Open International Féminin Midi-Pyrénées Saint-Gaudens Comminges is a tennis tournament held in Saint-Gaudens, a city in France. Held since 2004, this ITF Circuit event is a $50,000 tournament. It started off being a $50,000 event back in 2004 and still is, this event was played on outdoor clay...
, an ITF Women's Circuit
ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. It serves as the developmental circuit for the WTA Tour, which is run by the independent Women's Tennis Association...
tennis tournament, is held in Saint-Gaudens.
International relations
Saint-Gaudens is twinned with: AvranchesAvranches
Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...
, 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...
Barbastro
Barbastro
Barbastro is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Vielha e Mijaran
Vielha e Mijaran
Vielha e Mijaran is a municipality in the comarca of the Val d'Aran in Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1970 by the merger of the municipalities of Arròs e Vila, Betlan, Escunhau, Gausac, Vielha and Vilac: the former municipalities retain some privileges as "decentralised municipal entities" , as...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
See also
- RC Saint-GaudensRC Saint-GaudensSaint-Gaudens Bears are a French rugby league team from the town of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne.-History:The club, founded in 1958, have won the French Championship on four occasions, and the Lord Derby Cup also on four occasions....
, local rugby league team - Grand Prix du CommingesGrand Prix du CommingesThe Grand Prix du Comminges was an automobile race held in France.The race was named after the Comminges, one of the former Provinces of France in ancient Gascony in what is now the Haute-Garonne department of the Midi-Pyrénées region of France...
- Sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens
- Communes of the Haute-Garonne department