Laurac

LAURAC is a small French village with 184 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011 ) in the Aude department in the Languedoc- Roussillon region. For a long time wore LAURAC the nickname Le Grand; up into the 14th century it was the capital of the Lauragais.

Location

LAURAC located about 70 km ( driving distance ) south-east of Toulouse and about 40 kilometers west of Carcassonne. About 13 kilometers north is Castelnaudary; the cantonal capital Fanjeaux located 13 kilometers southeast.

Demographics

In the 18th and 19th centuries LAURAC had about 600 to 700 inhabitants; at the beginning of the 20th century there were about 400

Economy

The Lauragais (also Cocagne = ' Cockaigne ' called ) was in the Middle Ages and the early modern period through the cultivation, become further processing and trade in woad ( pastel) very wealthy; but with the advent of indigo, which mainly flourished in the colonies of America, the wealth melted away. Today it lives mainly on the economic field (wheat, maize) and a little from tourism.

LAURAC has share of the wine region Malepère, which produces red and rosé wines with a protected designation of origin (AOC ).

History

The story of a fortified hilltop settlement ( castrum ) possibly dates back to the Gallo- Roman period; for the 8th century whose existence is well established. In the Middle Ages belonged to the town and its castle to viscounty Carcassonne, then later to the County of Toulouse.

In the late 12th century LAURAC was a center of Catharism. Blanche de Paracol (later Blanche de Laurac ) and her husband Sicard de LAURAC had six children, of which Géraude de Lavaur and Aimery de Montréal in 1211, ie during the Albigensian Crusade, by the troops of Simon de Montfort killed.

Raimund VI. , Count of Toulouse, the rule came about Lauragais on, handed LAURAC in 1226 but in the hands of the French king Louis IX. , Who immediately confided it Bernard Othon de Niort, the grandson of Blanche and Sicard de LAURAC. This reinforced and enlarged the fortifications ( Ramparts ) and gave the place a last short flowering time.

Since the late Middle Ages, the former importance of LAURAC gradually disappeared in favor of Castelnaudary and Saint- Papoul.

Attractions

• The main attraction of LAURAC is the almost circular structure of the village, who still recalls the early medieval castrum. Still parts of the medieval city walls have received on the outer sides.
• The Parish Church ( Église Saint -Laurent ) comes mainly from the 13th century; she stands at the highest point and thus in the midst of the town. Towering outer walls with tall window openings give it the appearance of a fortified church. The interior has a single nave with a straight final chorus; the nave has only a wooden roof, which is separated by a stone arch arched choir area rip it. Facilities include a Roman triumphal cross, some Renaissance sculptures ( including a Pietà ) and an altar of white marble.

Personalities

• Bernard Othon de Niort (* around 1201, † 1245 ), Cathars, Knights, Faydit