Massat

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Coordinates: 42°53′23″N 1°20′55″E / 42.8897222222, 1.34861111111

Commune of Massat
Location
Massat (France)
Massat
Administration
Country France
Region Midi-Pyrénées
Department Ariège
Arrondissement Arrondissement de Saint-Girons
Canton Canton de Massat
(Chef-lieu)
Intercommunality Communauté de communes du canton de Massat
Mayor Léon-Pierre Galy-Gasparrou
(2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation 598 m–1941 m
(avg. 651 m)
Land area¹ 44,71 km²
Population²
(1999)		 589
 - Density 13/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code 09182/ 09320
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.
France

Massat is a village and commune in the Pyrénées range of theAriège département of south-western France. As of 1999 it had a population of 589.

[edit] History

The area dates back to paleolithic times, when tribes left some traces in painted caves in the Ker valleys of Massat. The village later became a territory used by the Lords of Lomagne to disperse the population to, overcoming a serious problem of overpopulation. Several charters dating from 1146 specify the reciprocal rights of the inhabitants and the lords. The valley was directed towards an industrial activity lasting almost seven centuries. This included the manufacture of charcoal and cast iron of iron ores in 5 forging mills operated by Catalan women. From 1820, with the discovery of the means of melting iron with coal, the industrial prosperity of the valley disappeared.

Later in the 19th century, agricultural, primarily pastoral farming became the main source for the Massat economy, particularly the production of butter. With a very strong rural migration, amplified by Word War I, the valley depopulated quickly falling dramtically from 17,000 inhabitants in 1800 to just 1700 in total today, and just 589 in the village.

[edit] Demographics


[edit] See also

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