Barran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Commune of Barran | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 00° 26' 37" Est |
| Latitude | 43° 37' 03" Nord |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Département | Gers |
| Arrondissement | Auch |
| Canton | Auch-Sud-Ouest |
| Intercommunality | Communauté de communes du Val de Gers |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 121 m–283 m (avg. 182 m) |
| Land area¹ | 52,82 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
671 |
| - Density () | 12/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 32029/ 32350 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Barran is a village of the French county Gers, which enjoys the statute of commune. It is located on the river Petit Rhône, 15 kms away from the Gers departement's main city Auch.
Barran is a typical example of a bastide, those villages that were erected in Gascony in the late Middle Ages. It was founded by the end of the thirteenth century. It is well-known in the region for the very unusual shape of the tower of its church. Not in the village itself but still on the territory of the commune (which is by the way the third largest of the department for its superficy)are also several interesting places to be found, like the castle of Mazères, which was the summer residency of the bishops of Auch and then a military hospital during the First World War. Close to the castle is the bridge of Mazères to be found, which was built around the XVIth century over the river Baïse. In the XIXth century Barran was famous for its snails, from which special gums were made to prevent people from coughing.
Before the migration movement from the countryside to the cities started was Barran quite populated, as Gers was, which a population that amounted up to 2000 people at the eve of the First World War. Then the population began to fall down dramatically, but the trend has changed since the beginning of the 90's: nowadays around 700 people live in the commune, which makes it being the 24th out of 476 communes by its population. All basic private and public services (doctor, grocery and bakery, school, post office, sport facilities...) are to be found in the village.
The proximity of Auch, the chef-lieu (capital) of the department, and Toulouse, the regional capital, which is only 100 km eastwards away, and the migration trend toward Southern Europe that is on the way now should boost the further development of Barran.
No personalities were born in Barran so far, its most famous inhabitant was the general Blanquefort, who died during the Algerian campaign in 1840.
