Gers
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| Gers | |
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| Coat of arms of the Gers department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 32 |
| Region: | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Prefecture: | Auch |
| Subprefectures: | Condom Mirande |
| Arrondissements: | 3 |
| Cantons: | 31 |
| Communes: | 463 |
| President of the General Council: | Philippe Martin PS |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 89th |
| -1999 | 172,335 |
| Population density: | 28/km² |
| Land area¹: | 6257 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
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Gers is a department in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.
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[edit] History
In the Middle Ages, the Lordship of L'Isle-Jourdain was nearby.
Gers is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Guyenne and Gascony.
[edit] Geography
Located in southwestern France, Gers is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region. It is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Landes, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
[edit] Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Gersois.
[edit] Culture
The culture is largely agricultural, with great emphasis on the local gastronomical specialties such as the foie gras and wild mushrooms.
The Gascon language is a dialect of the Occitan, but it is not widely spoken.
There has been a heavy influence of waves of Spanish immigrants.
[edit] See also
- Cantons of the Gers department
- Communes of the Gers department
- Arrondissements of the Gers department
[edit] External links
- (French) General Council website
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) http://www.gers-gascogne.com/fr/default.asp
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