Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) 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 ...

and largest city in the Ariège

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 geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it is not the capital which is the smaller town of

Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...

. The seat of the

Bishop of Pamiers The Roman Catholic Diocese of Pamiers, Couserans, and Mirepoix (Latin: ''Dioecesis Apamiensis, Couseranensis, et Mirapicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Pamiers, Mirepoix, et Couserans'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church ...

is at the

Pamiers Cathedral Pamiers Cathedral ( French: ''Cathédrale Saint-Antonin de Pamiers'') is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Pamiers, France. The cathedral is a national monument. It is the ecclesiastical seat of the Bishopric of Pamiers, which was e ...

. The current mayor of the town is Frédérique Thiennot, who succeeded

André Trigano André Trigano (born September 13th 1925 in Montreuil) is a businessman and former mayor of Pamiers in the French Pyrenees, a post he held from 1995 until 2020. Biography Trigano was born to immigrant Sephardic Algerian Jewish parents in Paris ...

in 2020 after holding the post for 25 years.

Geography

Pamiers is located on the river Ariège. The town of Pamiers is famous for its three

bell towers A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

and for being the birthplace of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

, one of the greatest French musicians and composers of the late 19th and early 20th century. It also boasts awards for ''Ville fleurie'', the equivalent of "town in bloom". Local facilities include good restaurants, bars, supermarkets, large public indoor and outdoor swimming pools (one of which is 50m). Pamiers rue commerçante

Pamiers lies in an ancient alluvial plain of the Ariège in the area called ''La Basse Ariège'', noted for its rich fertile soil ideal for agriculture. Pamiers has 17,000 inhabitants, the ''Appaméens'', and is the economic capital of the Ariège, being the most important town in the department. The town itself dates back to the 5th century. The origin of its name is subject to debate. A certain school of linguists tends to believe that it was derived from the fact that, when Pamiers was founded, its new inhabitants were given land parcels measured in ''pams, from ''empan'' (from the Latin "pannus" meaning "piece of cloth"). Originally it was called ''Ville de Pams''. Another explanation is one involving Roger II de Foix, who had gone to a crusade in the region of

Apamea Apamea or Apameia ( grc, Απάμεια) is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see. Places called Apamea in ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and who, upon his return to France, gave his castle and domain the name of one of his battles: ''Castrum Appamiae'', name later on given to the town. The fact that Pamiers' inhabitants are called ''Appaméens'' would seem to favour this hypothesis. In the 18th century a plural stance on the word was introduced making the name "Apamias" derived from ecclesiastical language and also similar to the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Ital ...

. The Occitan name "Pamias" can be seen on the town sign, alongside the French name Pamiers, as one enters the town via the old route from Toulouse, RN20. The main square of Pamiers, ''Place de la République'', is paved in red marble. Every week, three large open-air farmers' markets are held, plus a

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

every Sunday morning. Nearby are the old ''Tour des Cordeliers'' and the large Church of ''Notre-Dame-du-Camp''.

Population

Personalities

Pamiers was the birthplace or hometown of: *

Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier (17 July 1736 – 14 December 1828) was a major French politician of the French Revolution. He is sometimes called the "Great Inquisitor", for his active participation in the Reign of Terror. During this time, he was i ...

(1736-1828), politician at the time of the French Revolution * Caroline Montigny-Rémaury (1843–1913), pianist *

(1845-1924),

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Théophile Delcassé Théophile Delcassé (1 March 185222 February 1923) was a French politician who served as foreign minister from 1898 to 1905. He is best known for his hatred of Germany and efforts to secure alliances with Russia and Great Britain that became t ...

(1852-1923),

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Pope Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...

, (ca. 1280-1342), bishop of Pamiers in the 1320s * Swanne Gauthier, basketball player *

Yoann Huget Yoann Huget (; born 2 June 1987) is a former French rugby union player. He played as a wing or fullback. Career Club He started his rugby career playing for Stade Toulousain in the 2005–06 Top 14 season. He scored his first try in November ...

, rugby player

Transportation

Pamiers station Pamiers station ( French: ''Gare de Pamiers)'' is a railway station in Pamiers, Occitanie, France. The station is served by TER (local) services and Intercités de nuit night services operated by SNCF. The station is located at kilometric ...

has rail connections to Toulouse, Foix and Latour-de-Carol.

References

External links