Cahors

Cahors
Valentré bridge
Cahors
Administration
Country France
Region Midi-Pyrénées
Department Lot
Arrondissement Cahors
Canton Cahors
Mayor Jean-Marc Vayssouze-Faure
Statistics
Elevation 130 m (430 ft) avg.
Land area1 64.72 km2 (24.99 sq mi)
Population2 23,003  (1999)
 - Density 355 /km2 (920 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 46042/ 4675493
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Cahors (French pronunciation: [kaɔʁ]; Occitan: Caors, pronounced [kaˈurs, ˈkɔws, ˈkɔw]) is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.

Its site is dramatic being contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the river Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula. Today it is perhaps best known as the centre of the famous AOC 'black' wine known since the Middle Ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viticulture industry.

Contents

History

Cahors has had a rich history since Celtic times. The original name of the town was Divona or Divona Cadurcorum, "Divona of the Cadurci," a Celtic people of Gaul before the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. Cahors derives from Cadurcorum.[1] It has declined economically since the Middle Ages, and lost its university in the eighteenth century. Today it is a popular tourist centre with people coming to enjoy its mediaeval quarter and the unique 14th century fortified Valentré bridge. It is the seat of the Diocese of Cahors.

Cahors was prominent in the Middle Ages and saw considerable conflict during the Hundred Years War and the later Wars of Religion. It was also infamous at that time for having bankers that charged interest on their loans. The church in these times said that using money as an end in itself (usury) was a sin. Because of this Cahors became synonymous with this sin, and was mentioned in Dante's Inferno (XI.50) alongside Sodom as wicked.

Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze or d'Euse, was born in Cahors in 1249, the son of a shoemaker, and it was the home of Dutch poet Ankie Peypers (1928–2008), winner of the 1962 Anne Frank-award. In the 2007 Tour de France, Cahors was the start of stage 18.

Main sights

Wine

Main article: Cahors (wine)

The area around Cahors produces wine, primarily robust and tannic red wine. Wine from the Cahors appellation must be made from at least 70% Cot (also called Malbec, Mabeck, Auxerrois and Pressac) grape, with a maximum of 30% Merlot or Tannat grape varieties.

See also

References

  1. ^ Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (Boydell and Brewer, 1997, originally published 1994 in German), p. 52.

External links