Muret (; in Gascon

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

''Murèth'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne

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, ...

, of which it is a subprefecture, 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 of southwestern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Muretains''. It is an outer

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

of the city of Toulouse, even though it does not in the region of Toulouse Métropole, which it has declined to join. It lies southwest of Toulouse and is the largest component of the intercommunality of Le Muretain Agglo. Muret is generally known for the

Battle of Muret The Battle of Muret (Occitan: Batalha de Murèth), fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Althoug ...

(1213) and as the birthplace of the Renaissance humanist Muretus (1526-1585) and of Clément Ader (1841-1925), inventor and aviation pioneer. It is also the birthplace of the from which Adolphe Niel, Marshal of France and Minister of War, was derived.

Geography

A floral town (two flowers) located in the and the , south of Toulouse. It is equidistant from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, on the .

Localities and hamlets

, Estantens, Cupidou.

Communal borders

Geology and relief

The commune is established on the first on its left bank. Its right bank is overhung by a steep slope which deeply cut the molasse of the Tertiary era. It has an area of and an altitude ranging from .

Transport

*By road: By the and the A64 autoroute (old ), exits , , . *By rail: By the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

Gare de Muret Muret is a railway station in Muret, Occitanie, France. The station is on the Toulouse–Bayonne railway. The station is served by TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department ...

TER Occitanie on the Toulouse - Bayonne line (). *By bus: By the network,

Tisséo Tisséo is the brand adopted in 2002 for the transport network of Toulouse, under the authority of the '' Syndicat mixte des transports en commun'' (SMTC). Tisséo operates two metro lines, two tramway lines, a hundred buses, and shuttle ser ...

and the TAMtam network. **Several Tisséo bus routes connect the commune to the Toulouse Metro, including: **

58 bus route from to the lycée Pierre-d'Aragon passing through the centre of the commune. **

117 bus route from to Muret railway station. *By air: Muret is from

Toulouse–Blagnac Airport Toulouse–Blagnac Airport (french: Aéroport de Toulouse–Blagnac) is an international airport located west northwest of Toulouse, partially in Blagnac, both ''communes'' of the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of France. I ...

, as well as from the Muret – Lherm Aerodrome (tourist flights) and the (business jets).

Hydrography

Muret is located on the Garonne river at its

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 ...

with the

Louge The Louge (; oc, Loja) is a long river in southwestern France, left tributary of the Garonne. Its source is in the département of Hautes-Pyrénées, near Lannemezan. It flows generally north-northeast through the following ''départements'' and ...

, which flows northeast through the commune. The Garonne flows north through the commune and forms part of its northern border. The tributary of the Touch is also in the commune, and the .

Climate

Muret has an oceanic temperate climate, with Mediterranean and continental influences, characterised by a hot, dry summer, mild winter and a spring marked by heavy rains and severe thunderstorms. The prevailing winds are, in order of importance, the west wind (usually bringing moisture from the Atlantic Ocean), the southeast wind (also called the , a rather hot, dry wind) and the north, which is much less frequent and generally a cold and dry wind (bringing air from cold anticyclonic masses in Northern Europe). Muret has averaged 24 days of extreme heat and 33 days of frost per year. The rainiest months are April, May and June. The normal minimum temperatures occur in January with average , and the maximum normal temperatures in August with .

History

Prehistory and antiquity

Various discoveries by local archaeologists suggest that the territory of Muret was populated as early as the Neolithic period: A hut foundation dating from 4000 BC has been unearthed to the north of the town. Different objects in the Chalcolithic, around 3,000 to 2,500 BC; then the Bronze Age from 1,700 BC indicate the permanence of the population here. A series of Gallo-Roman brick kilns dating back to the 1st century AD is located along the right bank of the Garonne. A villa occupied the site of the current town centre; surrounded by protective walls it was given the name of Murellum, which became Murel, and then Muret in the Middle Ages.

Middle Ages

On 12 September 1213 the

took place between Simon de Montfort and a coalition force under the control of Count Raymond of Toulouse, and King

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

. Muret entered history. That day, the battle changed the horizons of both sides of the Pyrenean border and saw the fate of

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

decided. In an era where feudal entities (including the

Count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ru ...

and his allies) still believed that they were able to play a role in the control of the southern areas on both slopes of the Pyrenees, the lords of the north of France, who spearheaded the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

, attempted to impose themselves upon the south and eliminate

Catharism Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...

. De Montfort had been fighting Albigensian heretics during the

, when he was besieged by the vastly superior coalition army. Refusing to surrender or be starved into submission, de Montfort went on the offensive. Leading his knights out of the town, he proceeded to position them in a wide arc, then fell upon the Toulouse cavalry with a noise ''like a whole forest going down under the axe''. Next to fall before the Crusader army was the Aragonian cavalry, where King Peter himself fell to the sword. After this, all that was left was to scatter the remaining cavalry defending the coalition camp before turning on the infantry that had been besieging Muret's walls. Despite their overwhelming advantage in numbers,the coalition army numbering almost 34,000 men was destroyed by de Montfort's army of only 2,100. The siege of Muret was lifted. 7,000-20,000 coalition troops were killed compared to a handful of casualties for de Monfort's army. So it was at Muret, on 12 September 1213, where King Peter II of Aragon who came to reinforce the local Occitan forces, lost his life. This defeat of the Occitano-Aragonese troops heralded the annexation of the Languedoc to the Crown of France and the end of Catharism.

World War II

Heraldry

Politics and administration

Political trends and outcomes

The commune is part of the .

List of mayors

Judicial and administrative proceedings

The capable courts for the commune of Muret are the Court of Muret, the of Toulouse, the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, the , Toulouse

juvenile court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

, the

Industrial Tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, redu ...

of Toulouse, the of Toulouse, the of Toulouse and the of Bordeaux.

International relations

Muret is twinned with: * Monzón, Spain *

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, United Kingdom

Demography

In 2017, the commune had 24,945 inhabitants.

Economy

Muret is a true centrality in the area of life and activity of the Muretain, near Toulouse. Its stable economic fabric is composed primarily of small and medium-sized enterprises and industries, covering many sectors of activities. The economic development jurisdiction is exercised by the Agglomération Community of Muretain, which develops and consolidates the local economic fabric, and helps the creation of enterprises for the benefit of employment. Muret has important reserves mainly located on the areas of activities of the territory. Muret Gateway: located north of the town, at the junction of the A64 exit. *Cap Clément Ader / Les Bonnets: Adjacent to the Muret-Lherm airport, with in its centre, the international

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

. *Joffrery: at the northern entrance of Muret. *Marclan: north of the town. *Sans Soucis: at the northern boundary of the town.

Industry

* *

Laboratoires Pierre Fabre Laboratoires Pierre Fabre is a French multinational pharmaceutical and cosmetics company. The company had a consolidated turnover of 1.978 billion euros in 2012 (including 54% international). It is headquartered in the city of Castres, Midi-Pyrén ...

Services

*: *, specialised in long sentences. Bertrand Cantat, was held in this centre from 28 September 2004 to 15 October 2007 for the killing of his girlfriend, the actress Marie Trintignant.

Infrastructure

* Muret – Lherm Aerodrome *

* TDF transmitter

Personalities linked to the commune

, (1177?-1213), King of the Crown of Aragon- Catalonia, died at the

. A high school in the town bears his name. * :* Adolphe Niel (1802-1869), Marshal of France (1859) and Minister of War under Napoleon III :* (1846-1918), son of the Marshal, general of brigade (1897), was buried at Muret as his parents and his cousins, the Niels of Brioudes. :* * Nicolas Dalayrac (1753-1809),

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 ...

of comic operas. * Clément Ader (1841-1925),

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 ...

* Vincent Auriol (1884-1966), Mayor of Muret (1925), first President of the Fourth Republic, and his wife, (1896-1979) *

Guillaume Ibos Guillaume Ibos (10 July 1860 – 22 September 1952) was a French opera singer. Career Born in Muret (Haute-Garonne), Ibos continued his musical studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prize. He was immediately hired at th ...

(1860-1952), tenor * Charles de Rémusat (1797-1875), politician and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, deputy of Muret. *

Marc-Antoine Muret Muretus is the Latinized name of Marc Antoine Muret (12 April 1526 – 4 June 1585), a French humanist who was among the revivers of a Ciceronian Latin style and is among the usual candidates for the best Latin prose stylist of the Renaissa ...

, humanist, (1526-1585). * Saint Germerius, (circa 691 AD). *

Christian Jeanpierre Christian Jeanpierre (also spelt Jean-Pierre, born 9 April 1965) is a French sports journalist who has worked for French television channels Canal+ and TF1, as well as radio station Europe 1. Jeanpierre presented TF1's football programme, Tél� ...

(1965-), sports presenter on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...

, presenter of ''

Téléfoot ''Téléfoot'' is a French Association football, football programme produced by TF1 Group, TF1 Production for TF1. The programme was created by Pierre Cangioni in 1977 to show French Ligue 1, Division 1 highlights. Téléfoot now covers France ...

''. *

Louis-Noël Belaubre Louis-Noël Belaubre (27 December 1932 – 17 July 2017) was a French classical pianist and composer. Biography Born in Muret, Belaubre studied the piano at the Conservatoire de Paris with Lazare-Lévy and music composition with Tony Aubin. Fro ...

, pianist and composer (1932). * (1746-1802), Member of the Estates General. *, deputy, died at Muret * Manon André, Rugby Union player *, actress, died at Muret *, politician died at Muret *, politician died at Muret *, singer, primarily in

*, born in Muret * Albert van Schendel and Antoon van Schendel, road bicycle riders, died at Muret * Sharaf Ibn Daha Anissa, former mayor of the town. Born in Muret, studied in Muret, will probably die there too.

Monuments and tourist sights

Historic monuments

*The Church of Santiago de Muret, main monument of the town: It was built in the 12th century through the Counts of Comminges who made wall their principal residence. It is redesigned and enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries. Particularly noteworthy is its octagonal steeple of Toulouse type. It is classified as early as 1928. In 1538 - 1548, a large vaulted choir was added at the end of the panelled

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

nave. Its decor is restored after the depredations of the Revolution, under the first Empire, in a neo-classical style and side chapels were built. *House of 1823, 30 ''Rue Clément-Ader'' * Clément Ader Park *The

Château de Cadeilhac A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

*The Château de Rudelle is a 16th and 17th century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. Privately owned, it is inscribed on the list of historic monuments, listed as an historic site by the French Ministry of Culture. The , organised by commune. Muret-Eglise Saint Jacques-Travée centrale et choeur.jpg, The Church of Saint-Jacques: Nave and choir Muret-Eglise Saint Jacques-Orgue.jpg, The Church of Saint-Jacques: Organ Muret-Eglise Saint Jacques-Chapelle Notre-Dame de La Salette.jpg, The Church of Saint-Jacques: Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes

Other monuments and sites

*Domain of Brioudes *

Statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

Marshal Niel Adolphe Niel (4 October 180213 August 1869) was a French Army general and statesman. He was born at Muret, Haute-Garonne and entered the École Polytechnique in 1821. Niel entered the engineer school at Metz, became lieutenant in the Engineers ...

*Chapel of Saint-Amans of Estantens *Château de Montégut-Ségla where lived *Jean Jaurès Park *Clement Ader Park Muret - chapelle Saint-Amans - façade Sud 01.jpg, The south side of the Chapel of Saint-Amans of Estantens

Local life

Public service

Muret has a subprefecture, , a

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

, a post office, tax office, a retirement home, a centre assigned to the A64 autoroute and a

tourist office A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

Health

The commune has a hospital ( geriatrics, disabled), a versatile clinic with ( MRI and medical radiology), a , a retirement home, a

day hospital A day hospital is an outpatient facility where patients attend for assessment, treatment or rehabilitation during the day and then return home or spend the night at a different facility. Day hospitals are becoming a new trend in healthcare. The num ...

, laboratories for medical analyses, ambulance services, nurses, midwives, general practitioners, rehabilitation professionals, pedicurists- podiatrists and

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

Education

Education is provided at the commune of Muret's creche, passing through , and collège until the ''lycée'' high school and all being complemented by the municipal library and outdoor centre. The city is also home to a branch of the National School of civil aviation.

Culture

Muret has multiple cultural facilities, including: *François Mitterrand Media Library *Clément-Ader Museum *Cinema *The Nicolas-Daylarac municipal school of art teaching *Contemporary art gallery Duniya The World Of Muret is home for the well-known Francophone literary award Prix du jeune écrivain de langue française, founded in 1984.

Sports

Muret offers more than 100 sport and leisure events per year. Its facilities are many and varied: Gymnasiums, tennis courts, recreation area with a fitness trail, two landscaped lakes, international

, an aerodrome, a

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

facility, three bowling facilities, a

skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

park, two

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or shooting sport, competitions. So ...

s, a velodrome, a riding club and the ''Aqualudia'', the Muretain swimming centre with its six indoor and outdoor pools. Muret has more than 50 sporting associations, including: *Avenir Muretain XV, Rugby union club which plays in

Fédérale 3 Fédérale 3 is the seventh division of rugby union in France. The competition involves 226 clubs in 21 pools of 8, and winners can progress up into higher division of competition. The competition above Fédérale 3 is Fédérale 2 and above that, ...

. *,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club which played in the Championnat National (3rd division) and the AS Muret women's team. *Texman, bridge club with 120 members. *The took place at Muret. *The American football team. Muret will also host the departure for Stage 13 of cycling's

2015 Tour de France The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées stage ...

on 17 July, with a route to

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...

Worship

Catholic

The town is part of the pastoral sector of Muret, which includes the parishes of Saint-Jacques, Saint-Jean, and the parishes of the villages: Estantens, , Le Fauga,

Eaunes Eaunes (; oc, Èunas) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Population The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Eaunois'' or ''Eaunoises'' in French. Twin towns Eaunes is twinned with: * Casier, Italy * Alb ...

and Saint-Hilaire. Father Joseph Coltro is the senior priest of this pastoral area.

Protestant

The cultural association of the Evangelical Church in Muret occupies premises located at 12 ''Chemin de la Pyramide'', inaugurated in November 2012 after a year of work. The pastor is Bernard Gisquet.

Muslim

The Association of Franco-Muslim culture and worship of Muret (AFMCCM) acquired the premises of a former locksmith, Rue Marclan, in an industrial area north of Muret, in 2000, for the founding of the mosque of Muret.

Ecology and recycling

Collection and treatment of household waste and assimilated waste as well as protection and the development of the environment are part of the . There is a recycling centre in the commune.

References

External links

* {{authority control Communes of Haute-Garonne Subprefectures in France Comminges