Labège (; ) 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 the

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in Southwestern France.

Geography

Labège is a commune in the metropolitan area of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. Its urban core is located in the southeast suburbs of Toulouse along the Autoroute des Deux Mers (A61) towards

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

. The bordering communes are Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, Auzielle, Escalquens, Castanet-Tolosan,

Auzeville-Tolosane Auzeville-Tolosane (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Population The inhabitants are called ''Auzevillois''. International relations It is twinned with : * Broughton, Wales * ...

, and Ramonville-Saint-Agne. Labège-Innopole station and Labège-Village station have rail connections to Toulouse, Carcassonne and Narbonne.

History

The name "Labège" may be derived from La Berge ("The Bank") because of the town's location on the banks of the Hers-Mort. Some Roman remains can be seen in Labège; but in Roman times no actual village existed here, only a few scattered homes along the thoroughfare between Baziège and

. Even in the Middle Ages, the settlement was sparse. Fourteenth century documents mention a Labège manor, which was owned by the College of Saint Front de Périgord for the next four centuries, but only toward the end of the Renaissance did the village proper begin to take shape around the parish church.

Politics

At the national level, the commune is part of the 3rd constituency of Haute-Garonne.

Demographics

Economy

Labège is made up of two sharply contrasted districts. To the southeast is Labège Village, the residential area, with most of the homes, local shops, a gymnasium, day-care, and the largest

pétanque Pétanque (, ; ; ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports (along with Raffa (boules), raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, Bowls, lawn bowls, and Crown green bowls, crown green bowling). In these sports, players or teams play thei ...

club in the vicinity. To the northwest towards Toulouse is the economic center of the commune, Labège Innopole, incorporating the headquarters of , the Labège 2 shopping centre, the Gaumont Multiplex movie theatre, and many restaurants, businesses, laboratories and Institutions. A

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

separates the two districts.

Sights

* The fountains of Saint-Sernin and Laurier, known for their healing waters. According to legend, during his journey from Narbonne to Toulouse, St. Sernin stopped to quench his thirst at the fountain which now bears his name, and blessed it with curative powers. * The Church of Saint-Barthélémy. Mention is made of an earlier church on this site in 1232. A second church of 1518-1570 was destroyed by the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

s. Its successor stood until it was destroyed by fire in the nineteenth century. The present church dates from 1860. * Place Saint-Barthélémy with its mansion, its sundial, its café and its imposing fountain sculpture. * The pigeonnier du Bouysset, dating from the eighteenth century: registered as an

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

since 11 July 1977. * The Maison Salvan, a cultural centre devoted to exploring the interface between art and science. * The largest

club in the area. * The war memorial near the cemetery.

Monuments

Labège - La mairie.jpg, Town hall Labège - La place Saint-Barthélemy - maison de maître.jpg, Manor House. Labège - La place Saint-Barthélemy - maison de maître - Cadran solaire 1906.jpg, Sundial of 1906 Labège - Ancien presbytère actuellement école de musique Claude Nougaro.jpg, Music school ''Claude Nougaro'' Labège - Le pigeonnier du Bouysset.jpg, Dovecote of Bouysset. Labège - Le monument aux Morts.jpg, War memorial

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labege Communes of Haute-Garonne