Grenade (;

Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian, or Lengadocian () is an Occitan language, Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Lang ...

: ''Granada''), also referred to as Grenade-sur-Garonne, is a commune in the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

department in southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

The town is a

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the 13th and 14th centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides ...

founded in the 1290s on the initiative of the Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Grandselve who had founded

Beaumont-de-Lomagne Beaumont-de-Lomagne (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Bèumont de Lomanha'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, re ...

ten years earlier. The city is the subject of a ''

paréage In Medieval France a ''paréage'' or pariage was a feudal treaty recognising joint sovereignty over a territory by two rulers, who were on an equal footing, ''pari passu''; compare peer. On a familial scale, ''paréage'' could also refer to the ...

'' agreement between the monks and the seneschal Eustache de Beaumarchais representing King Philip IV. The new bastides created at this time are baptized with the names of large influential cities of the time, from Spain or Italy , such as Fleurance (

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

), or

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Grenada is therefore called so to show that it is destined to be an influential city in the South West of France. It has also been suggested that Granada comes from the Latin Granat - meaning grain - as the region was noted for its agriculture. Later, when the king had regained control of the different regions of the South-West, a “network” of bastides was created. Under this royal protection, Granada prospered thanks to the cultivation of the cleared plains around it. Moreover, the initial plan of the city provided for more than 3,000 dwellings, but only 1,000 were built.

Population

Monuments

Grenade - Hotel de ville.jpg, Town hall Grenade - Halle - Exterieur.jpg, Market hall 31 - Grenade (Haute-Garonne) - Monument aux Morts.jpg, War memorial Église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption (Grenade) Portail - face.jpg, Church portal Église Notre-Dame de l'Assomption (Grenade) interieur.jpg, Church interior Grenade - Couvent des Ursulines.jpg, Convent

References

Communes of Haute-Garonne Populated places established in the 1290s {{Toulouse-geo-stub

History

Population

Monuments

See also

References