Saint-Affrique (;

Languedocien Languedocien (French name, ), Languedocian, or Lengadocian () is an Occitan language, Occitan dialect spoken in rural parts of southern France such as Languedoc, Rouergue, Quercy, Agenais and southern Périgord. It is sometimes also called Lang ...

: ''Sant Africa'') is a commune in the

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

department in

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

History

Saint-Affrique grew in the 6th century around the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

of St. Africain, bishop of Comminges. In the 12th century a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

was built on the neighboring rock of Caylus. The possession of Saint-Affrique was vigorously contested during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. It was eventually occupied by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

until 1629, when it was seized and dismantled by a royal army.

Geography

The

Sorgues Sorgues (; ) is a commune in the southeastern French department of Vaucluse. The river Ouvèze, a tributary of the Rhône, as well as its tributary Sorgue, which begins at the Fontaine de Vaucluse, run through the commune. Sorgues, which had ...

, a tributary of the

Dourdou de Camarès Dourdou may refer to the following rivers: * Dourdou de Camarès, tributary of the Tarn in southern France *Dourdou de Conques The Dourdou de Conques (, ''Dourdou of Conques'') is an long river in the department of Aveyron, southern France. Its ...

, flows through the commune and crosses the town. The Dourdou de Camarès flows northwestward through the western part of the commune and forms part of its northwestern border.

Population

Sights

An old

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the Sorgue and some

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

s in the neighborhood, especially, the

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

of Tiergues, are of antiquarian interest.

Personalities

Saint-Affrique was the birthplace of: *

Pierre Frédéric Sarrus Pierre Frédéric Sarrus (; 10 March 1798, Saint-Affrique – 20 November 1861) was a French mathematician. Sarrus was a professor at the University of Strasbourg, France (1826–1856) and a member of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris (184 ...

(1798–1861), mathematician *

Lucien Galtier Lucien Galtier ( – February 21, 1866) was a French Catholic priest. He was the first Catholic priest to serve in Minnesota. He was born in southern France in the town of Saint-Affrique, department of Aveyron. The year of his birth is somewhat u ...

(1812–1866), priest who built the first Catholic Church in Minnesota, USA *

Pierre-Auguste Sarrus Pierre-Auguste Sarrus (March 14 or 15, 1813 – May 3, 1876) was a French musician and inventor. History * He joined the army at the age of 23. * November 27, 1843: Sarrus is affected to the 74th ''Régiment d'Infanterie'' as corporal-chief of t ...

(1813–1876), musician and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau (24 December 1851 – 19 March 1944) was a French military officer and Chief of Staff of the French Army, Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces during the First World War. Elected deputy in 1 ...

(1851-1944) General *

Émile Borel Félix Édouard Justin Émile Borel (; 7 January 1871 – 3 February 1956) was a French people, French mathematician and politician. As a mathematician, he was known for his founding work in the areas of measure theory and probability. Biograp ...

(1871–1956), mathematician and politician *

Stéphane Diagana Stéphane Diagana (born 23 July 1969 in Saint-Affrique, Aveyron) is a retired, French track and field sprinter and hurdler. His specialities were the 400 metres hurdles and the 4 × 400 metres relay. Diagana won the 400 metres hur ...

(born 1969), athlete * Richard Sainct (born 1970), motorcycle racer

International relations

* The town is twinned with

Driffield Driffield, also known as Great Driffield (neighbouring Little Driffield), is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield. By ...

, in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Saint-Affrique prize

The Grand Prix of Saint-Affrique has been awarded to noted Parisian painters since the second part of the 20th century. It consists of a month-long stay of at the hotel of famous chef François Decucq during which the painters could visit and paint one of the most beautiful counties in France. Some prize winners:

Daniel du Janerand Daniel du Janerand (18 July 1919 – 19 July 1990) was a French painter, muralist, and book illustrator. Artistic life He was born in the "Marais", center of Paris, on 18 July 1919. He studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Ar ...

Maurice Boitel Maurice Boitel (July 31, 1919 – August 11, 2007) was a French painter. Artistic life Boitel belonged to the art movement called "La Jeune Peinture" ("Young Picture") of the School of Paris,The School of Paris (1945–1965) by Lydia Harambourg. ...

References

External links

Town council website
(in French)
Unofficial website about Saint-Affrique
(in French) Communes of Aveyron Rouergue Aveyron communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Aveyron-geo-stub