Condom, Gers

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Coordinates: 43°57′30″N 0°22′25″E / 43.9583333333, 0.373611111111

Administration
Commune of Condom Condom Cathedral
Location

Country	France
Region	Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Gers (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Condom
Canton	Condom
Intercommunality	Communauté de commune de la Ténarèze
Mayor	Gérard Dubrac (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	62 m–190 m (avg. 82 m)
Land area^¹	97.37 km²
Population^² (1999)	7,251
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	32107/ 32100
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: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Condom (IPA: [kɔ̃dɔ̃]) is a town and commune in the French département of Gers, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

1 Way of St. James
2 Monuments
3 Several claims to fame
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Way of St. James

Condom is a town on the Via Podiensis, one of the three major French arms of the pilgramage route, the Way of St. James. This particular route begins in Le Puy and ends in Santiago de Compostella in northwest Spain. Pilgrims arrive at Condom after Miradoux and continue on to Larressingle.

[edit] Monuments

Condom is the site of two castles, the Château de Mothes and the Château de Pouypardin, both started in the 13th century. (See Castles in Gers for details.) In total, 19 sites in Condom are listed as monuments historiques by the French Ministry of Culture, including the cathedral, churches and houses.

[edit] Several claims to fame

Given the more widespread social use, in the English language, of the word condom, it is interesting to note that the town is located on the river Baïse; baise, without the diaeresis, is a French vulgarism for a sex act. In French language however, a condom is usually called préservatif and seldom condom. The city is a popular target for street sign stealing tourists. It is also home to a museum of famous population-control devices.^[1]^[2]

It is known for the production of Armagnac, an international music festival of "bandas", an international chess tournament and an international chess marathon. It is also known for its tourism with farm campings and boating on waterways.

The town was featured in the French film, Le Bonheur est dans le Pré or Happiness is in the Field. The movie features a man leaving his job as a manager of a toilet lid factory and his erstwhile family after he was mistaken for another man on a TV show. He moves to live in Condom with his 'old-new' family who own a foie de canard (duck liver) farm.

John Du Prez, friend of former Python Eric Idle and co-composer with him of Spamalot (musical, 2005) and Not the Messiah (oratorio, 2007), has a cottage in Condom.^[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Musée du préservatif Pays en France (retrieved November 6, 2007)
^ The Town of Condom (retrieved November 6, 2007)
^ Robert Cushman, "Not the Messiah (He's a Naughty Boy)," Festival07 Luminato Festival 2007 Program, pp. 17-21.