Saint-Affrique (;

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

: ''Sant Africa'') 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

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants ...

department in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

History

Saint-Affrique grew in the 6th century around the

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

of St. Africain,

bishop of Comminges The former French Catholic diocese of Comminges existed at least from the sixth century, to the French Revolution. The seat of the bishops was at Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, now no more than a village, in the modern department of Haute-Garonne in ...

. In the 12th century a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

was built on the neighboring rock of Caylus. The possession of Saint-Affrique was vigorously contested during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

. It was eventually occupied by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

until 1629, when it was seized and dismantled by a royal army.

Geography

The

Sorgues Sorgues (; oc, Sòrgas) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. The river Ouvèze, a tributary of the Rhône, as well ...

, a tributary of the

Dourdou de Camarès The Dourdou de Camarès (, literally ''Dourdou of Camarès''; oc, Dordon de Camarés) is an long river in the Tarn, Hérault and Aveyron departments in southern France. Its source is in the Parc naturel régional du Haut-Languedoc, in the co ...

, flows through the commune and crosses the town. The Dourdou de Camarès flows northwestward through the western part of the commune and forms part of its northwestern border.

Population

Sights

An old

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the Sorgue and some

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

s in the neighborhood, especially, the

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

of Tiergues, are of antiquarian interest.

Personalities

Saint-Affrique was the birthplace of: *

Pierre Frédéric Sarrus Pierre Frédéric Sarrus (; 10 March 1798, Saint-Affrique – 20 November 1861) was a French mathematician. Sarrus was a professor at the University of Strasbourg, France (1826–1856) and a member of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris (18 ...

(1798–1861), mathematician *

Lucien Galtier Lucien Galtier ( – February 21, 1866) was the first Roman Catholic priest who served in Minnesota. He was born in southern France in the town of Saint-Affrique, department of Aveyron. The year of his birth is somewhat uncertain, some sources cl ...

(1812–1866), priest who built the first Catholic Church in Minnesota, USA *

Pierre-Auguste Sarrus Pierre-Auguste Sarrus (March 14 or 15, 1813 – May 3, 1876) was a French musician and inventor. History * He joined the army at the age of 23. * November 27, 1843: Sarrus is affected to the 74th ''Régiment d'Infanterie'' as corporal-chief of t ...

(1813–1876), musician and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau (24 December 1851 – 19 March 1944) was a French army general, army group commander and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces during the First World War. Elected deputy in 1919 and president of the ...

(1851-1944) General *

Émile Borel Félix Édouard Justin Émile Borel (; 7 January 1871 – 3 February 1956) was a French mathematician and politician. As a mathematician, he was known for his founding work in the areas of measure theory and probability. Biography Borel was ...

(1871–1956), mathematician and politician * Stéphane Diagana (born 1969), athlete *

Richard Sainct Richard Sainct (14 April 1970 – 29 September 2004) was a French rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his three victories on The Paris-Dakar rally in 1999, 2000 and 2003. Biography His other notable achievements include winning the Tunis ...

(born 1970), motorcycle racer

International relations

* The town is twinned with

Driffield Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By road, it is north-east of Leeds ...

, in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Saint-Affrique prize

The Grand Prix of Saint-Affrique has been awarded to noted Parisian painters since the second part of the 20th century. It consists of a month-long stay of at the hotel of famous chef François Decucq during which the painters could visit and paint one of the most beautiful county of France. Some prize winners:

Daniel du Janerand Daniel du Janerand (18 July 1919 – 19 July 1990) was a French painter, muralist, and book illustrator. Artistic life He was born in the "Marais", center of Paris, on 18 July 1919. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Ar ...

Maurice Boitel Maurice Boitel (July 31, 1919 – August 11, 2007) was a French painter. Artistic life Boitel belonged to the art movement called "La Jeune Peinture" ("Young Picture") of the School of Paris,The School of Paris (1945–1965) by Lydia Harambourg. ...

References

External links

Town council website
(in French)
Unofficial website about Saint-Affrique
(in French) Communes of Aveyron Rouergue Aveyron communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Aveyron-geo-stub