Lavaur, Tarn
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Lavaur is a town and commune of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the Tarn département, 37 m. S.E. of Montauban by rail.
Population:
- 1906: town 4,069; commune 6,388
- 1999: commune 8,537.
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[edit] History
Lavaur was taken in 1211 by Simon de Montfort during the wars of the Albigenses, and several times during the religious wars of the 16th century.
[edit] Geography
Lavaur stands on the left bank of the Agout, which is here crossed by a railway-bridge and a fine stone bridge of the late 18th century.
[edit] Sights
From 1317 till the French Revolution Lavaur was the seat of a bishopric; the Cathédrale Saint-Alain de Lavaur was built for this purpose, dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, with an octagonal bell-tower. A second, smaller square tower contains a jaquemart (a statue which strikes the hours with a hammer) of the 16th century. In the bishops garden is the statue of Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases, one of the companions of Napoleon at Saint Helena.
[edit] Economy
The town carries on distilling and flour-milling and the manufacture of brushes, plaster and wooden shoes.
[edit] Miscellaneous
There is a subprefecture and a tribunal of first instance ( a lower Court of Justice).
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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