Condom ( oc, Condòm; ), also known as Condom-en-Armagnac, is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

, of which it is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

Geography

Localisation

The town of Condom is located in the northern part of the

, halfway between

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...

(to the west) and

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

(to the east), and north of

Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The Riv ...

Roads and transports

;Way of St. James Condom is a town on the

Via Podiensis The Via Podiensis or the Le Puy Route is one of the four routes through France on the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James the Great in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwest Spain. It leaves from Le-Puy-en-Velay and crosses the countryside ...

, one of the three major French arms of the pilgrimage route, the

Way of St. James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostle ...

. This particular route begins in Le Puy and ends in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

in northwest

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

s arrive at Condom after Miradoux and continue on to

Larressingle Larressingle (; oc, Larressingla) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. Geography Population Sights * Château de Larressingle The Château de Larressingle is a ruined castle in the '' commune'' of Larressingle in ...

Toponymy

There is no relationship between the English word ''

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

'' and this town. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

''Condom'' comes from the

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...

words ''condate'' and ''magos'' combined into ''Condatomagos'', which means "

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

or field, of the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

". ''Condatómagos'' evolved into ''Condatóm'' and then into ''Conddóm''. ''Condom'' was first recorded in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in the 10th century as ' or '. It is where the river Gèle flows into the river Baïse. Although the French word for a ''condom'' is ', in 1995 the town's mayor, taking advantage of the incidental relationship between the town's name and the English word, opened a museum of contraceptives, which closed in 2005.

Politics and administration

Mayors

Twin towns

* Grünberg,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– since 1973 * Toro,

Population

Sites of interest

Condom is the site of two castles, the Château de Mothes and the Château de Pouypardin, both started in the 13th century. In total, 19 sites in Condom are listed as ''

monuments historiques ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

, including the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, churches and houses. Condom is known for the production of

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

, an international music festival of "bandas", an international chess tournament and an international chess marathon. It is also known for its tourism with farm campings and boating on waterways. It is also home to a museum about Armagnac. A statue of

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

and

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...

stands beside the cathedral and was created in 2010 by

Zurab Tsereteli Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli ( ka, ზურაბ კონსტანტინეს ძე წერეთელი, russian: Зураб Константинович Церетели; born 4 January 1934) is a Georgian-Russian painter, sc ...

Notable people

Blaise de Montluc Blaise de Monluc, also known as Blaise de Lasseran-Massencôme, seigneur de Monluc, (24 July 1577) was a professional soldier whose career began in 1521 and reached the rank of marshal of France in 1574. Written between 1570 and 1576, an account o ...

, marshal of France, buried in Condom. *

Scipion Dupleix Scipion Dupleix, lord of Clarens ( Condom, 1569 – Condom, 1661), was a French historian. Dupleix came to Paris in 1605, in Queen Margaret of Valois' retinue, who appointed him as her hotel's ''maitre de requêtes''. In his position as tutor of ...

(1569-1661). *

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a m ...

(1627-1704). *

Jean-Charles Persil Jean-Charles Persil (13 October 1785 – 10 July 1870) was a French politician. He was Minister of Justice and Religious Affairs (1834–1837) during the July Monarchy, a peer of France (1839) and Councillor of State (1852). Early years Jean-Cha ...

(1785-1870). *

Narcisse-Achille de Salvandy Narcisse-Achille de Salvandy (; 11 June 1795 – 16 December 1856) was a French politician. He was born at Condom, Gers of a poor family of Irish extraction. He joined the army in 1813, and in the following year joined the household troops of L ...

(1795-1856). *

Sarah Maldoror Sarah Maldoror (19 July 1929 − 13 April 2020) was a French filmmaker of French West Indies descent. She is best known for her feature film ''Sambizanga'' (1972) on the 1961–1974 war in Angola. Early life and education Born Sarah Ducados i ...

(1929-2020). *

Stéphane Abrial Stéphane Abrial (; born 7 September 1954), is a French general who is the previous commander of Allied Command Transformation based in Norfolk, VA, one of the two NATO strategic commands. His previous posting was as the Chief of Staff of the Fre ...

(1954-), French general born in Condom. *

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

(1957-), English singer and songwriter, moved to Condom in 1992 and left in 2015.

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

, "Autobiography", Penguin Classics, 2014. *

Grégory Alldritt Grégory Alldritt (born 23 March 1997) is a French rugby union player, currently playing in the back row and mostly as a number eight, for Top 14 side La Rochelle. His father, Terence, was born in Kenya to Irish and Danish parents and lived ...

(1997-), French Rugby Union player * Jean-Louis Palladin (May 7, 1946 – November 25, 2001), French/American Chef * Larry L'Estrange (1934-2007), British soldier and rugby player, retired in Condom