Castelsarrasin

Castelsarrasin town hall

Coat of arms

Castelsarrasin

Location within Midi-Pyrénées region

Castelsarrasin

Coordinates: 44°02′27″N 1°06′28″E / 44.0408°N 1.1078°ECoordinates: 44°02′27″N 1°06′28″E / 44.0408°N 1.1078°E

Country

Castelsarrasin-1 and Castelsarrasin-2

Government

• Mayor (2001–2008)

Bernard Dagen

Area¹

76.77 km² (29.64 sq mi)

Population (2006)²

13,218

• Density

170/km² (450/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

82033 / 82100

Elevation

61–97 m (200–318 ft)
(avg. 84 m or 276 ft)

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.

Castelsarrasin is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in Midi-Pyrénées region of France. The inhabitants are called Castelsarrasinois. It is the second most populous commune in Tarn-et-Garonne after Montauban.

History

The first certain evidence of the town dates from 961. The name, Castel Sarracenum, would indicate that the castle was built in the Saracen era. The early history of the city is marked by wars; against the English until the end of the 12th century, then the Albigensian Crusade during the first part of the 13th century, and then the Shepherd's Crusade of 1320 that resulted in the deaths of many Jews in the city. The region was much affected by the Hundred Years' War, and again, during the wars of religion of the 16th century, the city's largely Catholic population was in frequent conflict with the generally Protestant surrounding region.

The region is calmer during the following centuries, up to the time of the French Revolution.

Castelsarrasin was the finish of Stage 17 in the 2007 Tour de France.