Gimont

Gimont is a municipality with 2817 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Gers in the southern French region of Midi -Pyrenees. Historically, the place is part of the former province of Gascony and the former Vice Gimois County, the eastern part of the Armagnac region.

Location

Gimont located about 50 kilometers ( route ) to the west of Toulouse. Also, the capital of the Gers department, is a further 28 kilometers to the west. Through the municipality both rivers Gimone and Marcaoue.

Demographics

Already in the late Middle Ages Gimont was an important town with over 2,000 inhabitants.

Economy

The feeding of geese ( oies ) and ducks ( canards ) was part of the agricultural production methods in the Périgord and Gascony centuries ago. Originally from Central America - - agricultural plant used in animal feed and grown accordingly often since the increasing awareness of maize in the 19th century is this. The foie gras ( pâté de foie gras ) is rarely offered fresh, but mostly preserved in jars or cans. Every Wednesday and every Sunday a market with local produce takes place in Gimont.

History

On January 25, 1265 in a contract ( acte de paréage ) between the abbot of the Cistercian abbey Planselve (→ monastery Gimont ) and Alphonse de Beaumarchais, the Seneschal Alfonso of Poitiers ', the brother of the French king Louis IX. and agreed since 1249, Count of Toulouse, the establishment of a Bastide. The only about two kilometers located in the south-west Abbey Planselve provided the land available and reserved the religious and financial control over the to be established churches, while the secular partner had to provide the necessary start-up funding and - after a waiting period - the taxes conceded. In the event of non- population of the Bastide the return of the land to the abbey was established.

However, the company was so successful that there are three churches in Gimont was in the 14th century, of which only one exists today, and the place was expanding even across the slopes of the hill on which he was, also. The success of the city also contributed to the fact that Gimont lay on the Via Tolosana, one of the four main French pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela.

From destruction during the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) and the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) is not known.

Attractions

  • Construction of the Église Notre -Dame was in 1292; on the facade, the year 1331 is engraved - probably the year of completion. It is a - mostly built of bricks - Church in the southern French Gothic style ( gothique méridional ); the octagonal tower was built in the 16th and 17th centuries and is similar to the steeples of Toulouse. The single-nave interior with side chapels impressed by its dimensions (width about 16 meters, height about 18 meters with a length of only about 30 meters). The equipment comes mostly from the dissolved and destroyed during the French Revolution the abbey Planselve - including the marble main altar, a triptych (16th century) and probably also the organ.
  • The roof of the - now serving as a covered parking - Market Hall ( hall ) dating from the 14th century; some bars are, however, been replaced over the centuries.
  • The Palais des évêques de Lombez is a watchable building in the Renaissance style with a hexagonal stair turret.
  • The Musée de l' Oie et du Canard provides information on the history and technique of goose and duck mast.
  • The Château de Larroque from 1804 is built in the style of the pre-revolutionary period; it is about a mile east of Gimont and is used as a hotel / restaurant.
  • The richly decorated pilgrimage church Chapelle Notre Dame de Cahuzac is located about one kilometer north-west of Gimont and is considered a reduced image of the parish church. Their emergence (1515-1524) is due to the miraculous discovery of a Muttergottestatue by a shepherd in 1513. The chapel is one of the oldest and most important pilgrimage sites in Gascony.
  • From the former Cistercian abbey Planselve ( monastery Gimont ) has hardly get anything.
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