Lectoure (; Gascon: ''Leitora'' ) 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 the

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.

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, ...

in the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region 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 ...

. It is located 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 ...

, the capital of the department, south of

Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

and approximately northwest of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

Geography

The village is located on the right bank of the

, which flows north through the western part of the commune. The river

Auroue The Auroue is a long river in the Gers, Lot-et-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne '' départements'', south western France. Its source is at Crastes, northeast of Auch. It flows generally north. It is a left tributary of the Garonne into which it f ...

forms part of the commune's southeastern and northeastern borders. Map commune FR insee code 32208

History

Lectoure was a prehistoric

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

, capital of Lactorates. Barbarian invasions forced residents to raise the walls and make Lectoure a stronghold for centuries. The town became the capital city of the Earldom of Armagnac in 1325, ruled by a powerful family descended from the ancient Dukes of Gascony, who held court at Lectoure. In 1473 Cardinal Jean de Jouffroy besieged the town on behalf of Louis XI. and after its fall put the whole population to the sword. In 1562 it again suffered severely at the hands of the Catholics under Blaise de Montluc.

Population

Sites of interest

Lectoure has been designated as a " town of art and history" (French: ''Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire'') by the

French Ministry of Culture and Communication 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, ...

since 1985. The 12th-16th century former

Lectoure Cathedral Lectoure Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Lectoure'') is a Roman Catholic church in the town of Lectoure, France. It is a national monument. It was the seat of the former Diocese of Lectoure._The_cathedral_is_divided_unde ...

is a national monument. The

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

was built between 1676 and 1682 by

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Hugues de Bar.

Way of St. James

Lectoure 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

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 route is followed by those making the pilgrimage from Le Puy by way of

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (literally "Saint John t theFoot of hePass"; eu, Donibane Garazi; es, San Juan Pie de Puerto) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is close to Ostabat in the Pyrenean foothi ...

Santiago de Compostella 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 Lectoure after Miradoux and next pass through

Marsolan Marsolan (; oc, Marçolan) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terri ...

and

La Romieu La Romieu (; oc, L'Arromiu) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terr ...

Cuisine

Locally produced

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 ...

and

foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy ...

are available and popular

delicacies A delicacy is usually a rare and expensive food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture. Irrespective of local preferences, such a label is typically pervasive throughout a r ...

Notable people

Pierre Charron Pierre Charron (; 1541 – 16 November 1603, Paris), French Catholic theologian and major contributor to the new thought of the 17th century. He is remembered for his controversial form of skepticism and his separation of ethics from religion as ...

Pierre Feuga Pierre Feuga (16 October 1942 – 10 June 2008) was a French novelist, essayist and translator (from Sanskrit and Latin). A specialist of the Vedanta, the cults of Shakti and tantrism, he also taught yoga for twenty-seven years.Pey de Garros Pey de Garros ( modern Gascon: ''Pèir de Garròs''; 1530–1585), was the most important Occitan poet of the Renaissance. He was instrumental in the evolution of the Gascon dialect into a literary language. Garros was born at Lectoure, Gascony ...

Joseph Lagrange Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaJean Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...

Paul Noël Lasseran Paul Noël Lasseran (1868 – 17 February 1933) was a French painter, decorator and poet from Lectoure. He is best known for his murals and decor in various churches throughout Gers. These include Chapelle des Carmélites, Lectoure (1889), Égli ...

Antoine de Roquelaure Antoine de Roquelaure (''Antòni de Ròcalaura'' in Occitan), lord of Roquelaure, Gaudoux, Sainte-Christie, Mirepoix, Montbert, Baron of Lavardens and Biran (1544 – Lectoure, 1625) was an important sixteenth-century French statesman and cl ...

* Aurélie Soubiran, Princess Ghika (1820–1904), writer.