Pamiers (; ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie

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. 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 ( , ; ; ) 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 prefecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwestern France ...

. The seat of the Bishop of Pamiers is at the

Pamiers Cathedral Pamiers Cathedral (French language, French: ''Cathédrale Saint-Antonin de Pamiers'') is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church located in the town of Pamiers, France. The cathedral is a national monument. It is the cathedra, ecclesiastical ...

. The current mayor of the town is Frédérique Thiennot, who succeeded André Trigano in 2020 after he had held 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 tow ...

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 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 in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

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 (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

. 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 (secondhand) 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''.

Personalities

Pamiers was the birthplace or hometown of: * Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier (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 def ...

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 German Empire, Germany and efforts to secure alliances with Russian Empire, Russ ...

(1852-1923),

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

* Pope Benedict XII, (-1342), bishop of Pamiers in the 1320s * Swanne Gauthier, basketball player * Yoann Huget, rugby player

Transportation

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

Population

Climate

References

External links

Official website

Tourist office website
* {{Authority control Communes of Ariège (department) Subprefectures in France Ariège communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia