Saint-Girons, Ariège

commune in Ariège, France

Saint-Girons (Gascon: Sent Gironç) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region, southwestern France. It is the capital of the former French province of Couserans that forms the western part of Ariège.

Saint-Girons
View of Saint-Girons and the Sourroque mountain
View of Saint-Girons and the Sourroque mountain
Coat of arms of Saint-Girons
Location of Saint-Girons
Map
Saint-Girons is located in France
Saint-Girons
Saint-Girons
Saint-Girons is located in Occitanie
Saint-Girons
Saint-Girons
Coordinates: 42°59′09″N 1°08′48″E / 42.9858°N 1.1467°E / 42.9858; 1.1467
CountryFrance
RegionOccitanie
DepartmentAriège
ArrondissementSaint-Girons
CantonCouserans Ouest
IntercommunalityCouserans - Pyrénées
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) François Murillo[1]
Area
1
19.13 km2 (7.39 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)
6,284
 • Density330/km2 (850/sq mi)
DemonymSaint-Gironnais
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
09261 /09200
Elevation387–1,200 m (1,270–3,937 ft)
(avg. 391 m or 1,283 ft)
Websitewww.ville-st-girons.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

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Confluence of the Lez and Salat rivers at Saint-Girons

Unlike its close neighbour Saint-Lizier, Saint-Girons is not an ancient city; there was however a lucus (a "sacred forest") on its present territory.

The city is named after Saint Girons, a saint from fifth-century Landes who evangelized in southwestern France. In the ninth century some of his relics were supposedly buried in Saint Girons' Church,[2] around which the city later developed.

Geography

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Saint-Girons is in the center of a basin at the foot of the Pyrenees and at the confluence of the Salat with the Lez and Baup rivers, in the Ariège department, southern France. The commune is part of the Regional Natural Park Pyrenees Ariégeoises.

The commune has an area of 19.1 km2 (7.4 sq mi).[3] Its average altitude is 365 m (1,198 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 390 m (1,280 ft).[4]

 

The commune of Saint-Girons is surrounded by the communes:

Climate

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The climate of Saint-Girons, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.

Climate data for Saint-Girons
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 9.9
(49.8)
11.1
(52.0)
12.9
(55.2)
15.0
(59.0)
18.5
(65.3)
22.0
(71.6)
25.0
(77.0)
24.5
(76.1)
22.9
(73.2)
18.8
(65.8)
13.5
(56.3)
10.4
(50.7)
17
(63)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2)
6.1
(43.0)
7.7
(45.9)
10.1
(50.2)
13.3
(55.9)
16.7
(62.1)
19.4
(66.9)
19.0
(66.2)
17.0
(62.6)
13.1
(55.6)
8.3
(46.9)
5.5
(41.9)
11.8
(53.2)
Average low °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)
1.1
(34.0)
2.6
(36.7)
5.1
(41.2)
8.1
(46.6)
11.5
(52.7)
13.7
(56.7)
13.6
(56.5)
11.1
(52.0)
7.5
(45.5)
3.1
(37.6)
0.7
(33.3)
6.5
(43.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 92.5
(3.64)
78.3
(3.08)
92.9
(3.66)
98.3
(3.87)
108.8
(4.28)
90.0
(3.54)
62.4
(2.46)
74.0
(2.91)
73.2
(2.88)
77.5
(3.05)
77.2
(3.04)
88.3
(3.48)
1,013.4
(39.90)
Source: Metereological data for Saint-Girons - Antichan from 1961 to 1990 July 2013

Population

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St Girons' Church by the Salat river

The inhabitants of Saint-Girons are known, in French, as Saint-Gironnais or Gironnais (women: Saint-Gironnaises or Gironnaises).[5]

Saint-Girons has a population of 6,284 (2014),[6] and population density of 328 inhabitants/km2.

Evolution of the population in Saint-Girons

Saint-Girons forms, with other 3 communes, the urban area of Saint-Girons with a population of 9,652 inhabitants (2013) and an area of 39.1 km2 (15.1 sq mi).[7] This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Saint-Girons, formed by 39 communes with a population of 18,222 inhabitants (2013) and an area of 440.4 km2 (170.0 sq mi).[8]

Administration

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Saint-Girons is a subprefecture of the Ariège department, the capital of the arrondissement of Saint-Girons and the administrative centre (French: chef-lieu) of the canton Couserans Ouest, with 10,686 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality Couserans - Pyrénées (French: Communauté de communes Couserans - Pyrénées).

Twinned and partner towns

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Saint-Girons is twinned with:[9]

Sites of interest

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Some important buildings are:

  • The Saint-Girons church
  • The Saint-Valier church
  • The Palais de Justice
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References

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  1. "Le Maire et ses adjoints". Ville Saint-Girons. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  2. "Histoire et patrimoine". Ville Saint-Girons. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  3. "Commune de Saint-Girons (09261)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. "City of Saint-Girons". Map-France.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  5. "Saint-Girons (09200)" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  6. "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  7. "Unité urbaine de Saint-Girons (09203)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  8. "Aire urbaine de Saint-Girons (267)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  9. "Jumelages". Ville Saint-Girons. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.

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