Cahors

For the wine region, see Cahors wine. For the wine grape also known as Cahors, see Jurançon (grape). For another French wine grape known as Cahors, see Négrette.
Cahors


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Cahors

Coordinates: 44°26′54″N 1°26′29″E / 44.4483°N 1.4414°E / 44.4483; 1.4414Coordinates: 44°26′54″N 1°26′29″E / 44.4483°N 1.4414°E / 44.4483; 1.4414
Country France
Region Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department Lot
Arrondissement Cahors
Canton Cahors
Government
 • Mayor Jean-Marc Vayssouze-Faure
Area1 64.72 km2 (24.99 sq mi)
Population (2011)2 20,224
 • Density 310/km2 (810/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 [kaˈurs, ˈkɔws, ˈkɔw]) is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.

Its site is dramatic, being contained on three sides within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot known as the presqu'île ("peninsula"). Today Cahors 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 viniculture industry.

History

Hôtel de Roaldès

Cahors has had a rich history since Celtic times. The original name of the town was Divona or Divona Cadurcorum, "Divona of the Cadurci," Divona was a fountain, now called "la fontaine des Chartreux", worshiped by the Cadurci, a Celtic people of Gaul before the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. The Cadurci were among the last Celtic tribes to resist the Roman invasion. Cahors derives from Cadurcorum.[1] However, romanization was rapid and profound : Cahors became a large Roman city, with many monuments whose remnants can be seen today. It has declined economically since the Middle Ages, and lost its university in the 18th century. Today it is a popular tourist centre with people coming to enjoy its mediaeval quarter and the 14th-century fortified Valentré bridge. It is the seat of the Diocese of Cahors.

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. In the 2007 Tour de France, Cahors was the start of stage 18.

Geography

The town is situated 115 km (71 mi) north of Toulouse, on the RN20 / A20, connecting the city, via Limoges to Paris and Orleans. The town's height above sea level is between 105 metres (344 feet) and 332 metres (1,089 feet). The area of the town is 64.72 square kilometres (24.99 square miles), with population density relatively high for France at 309 inhabitants per square kilometre.[2]

Main sights

The bridge
On the bridge

Wine

A Cahors chateau and vineyard
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% Malbec (also called Cot, Auxerrois and Pressac) grape, with a maximum of 30% Merlot or Tannat grape varieties.

Culture

The Cahors Blues Festival takes place every year in July since 1982.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (Boydell and Brewer, 1997, originally published 1994 in German), p. 52.
  2. ↑ Répertoire géographique des communes, publié par l'Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (French)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cahors.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Cahors.
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