Aude

Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" (French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active in the 12th to 14th centuries.

Its prefecture is Carcassonne and its subprefectures are Limoux and Narbonne. As of 2019, it had a population of 374,070.Populations légales 2019: 11 Aude
INSEE Aude is a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother of Eudo, brother of Saint Hubertus. Aude was the name of Roland's fiancée in the ''chansons de geste''.

Geography

Location

Aude is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees Mountains.

It is part of the current region of Occitanie. It is surrounded by the departments of Pyrénées-Orientales, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, and Hérault, with the Golfe du Lion on the east.

Natural regions

The countryside in this department falls into several natural regions:
* 1 – Lauragais
* 2 – Montagne Noire
* 3 – Cabardès
* 4 – Carcassonais
* 5 – Razès
* 6 – Quercorb
* 7 – Pays de Sault
* 8 – Minervois
* 9 – Corbières
* 10 – Narbonnais

Landscapes

Each natural region of the Aude has its own particular landscape. In the east, lagoons or coastal lakes separate land and sea. These were formed by accumulations of sediments carried down by the rivers Aude, Orb and Hérault. There are many such lakes of brackish water. This environment is demanding for flora and fauna, as it suffers from the rigours of sea, sun, dryness and floods. Halophile (i.e., salt-loving) plants grow there. The area is also noted for the pink flamingo and the white stilt.

Inland to the west, shrub and scrub dominate the landscape of the drylands of the Aude and the Corbières Massif. This landscape is the result of forest clearance, maintained by the raising of livestock. The flora is varied and characterized by many species of orchids. The Sault countryside is dominated by beech groves and fir plantations up to the mountains. These forests are known for their mushrooms, and have a rich flora and fauna, including the Pyrenean lily, the euproctis moth and horsetail of the woods.

To the north and west, the Black Mountain country is made up of forests of oak and beech. The Lauragais is a wooded landscape where grain farming has shaped the hills. There are bodies of water like the Lac de la Ganguise. Finally, the high valley of the Aude, otherwise called the Razès, consists of a riparian forest made of beech, alder, poplar or ash. It includes some peatlands that are very rare in southern France.

Geology

The landscapes of Aude can be explained by its geology. In the south, there are sedimentary rocks folded during the formation of the Pyrenees. To the north and centre of Aude, the sedimentary rocks are less folded. At the extreme east, near the Mediterranean, the rocks are carved by normal collapse faults which are due to the opening of the Golfe du Lion.

In the north, the Black Mountain and Minervois consist of schist and marble, forming the southern edge of the Massif Central. These ancient rocks are over 300 million years old and were deformed by the formation of the Hercynian chain. The Montagne d'Alaric ( Alaric's Mountain) is an antiform fold in the shape of a vault and made of limestone.

Climate

Aude is under the influence of a Mediterranean climate.

The autumn is characterized by violent and short storms.
The summer is often hot and dry, which is favorable to the culture of the vine and the olive-trees. Yet, the department has several contrasts in climate:
In the north, the Montagne Noire and, in the south, the Pays de Sault, have a mountainous climate with temperatures sometimes very low in winter.
In the west, the climate is under Aquitaine influence with heavier precipitation, while in the east the climate is purely Mediterranean.
In the centre, in the Limouxin, Carcassonnais and Razès areas, the climate is known as intermediary with significant exposure to winds.
The winds are often present in Aude. It is one of the windiest French departments, with 300 to 350 days of wind per year. This phenomenon is due mostly to the variations in relief north and south which create a kind of corridor.

In the north-west blows the Cers, called Tramontane in Provence, which is a ground wind. It is a dry, somewhat violent wind and cold in winter. In the south-east blows the Autan, locally called the Marin, which is hot and wet and comes from the sea.

These regular winds made it possible to install an industrial park of wind turbines, as in the area of Avignonet-Lauragais.

Hydrography

The drainage system of Aude is dominated by its river of the same name. The river rises at the Roc d'Aude and passes through the Matemale and Puyvalador dams on the Capcir plateau at 1500m, then crosses the department from south to north across Axat, Limoux, and Quillan following the upper valley of the Aude. At Carcassonne, the river changes direction toward the Mediterranean Sea to the east, where it empties near Fleury.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Narbonne; the prefecture Carcassonne is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

History

Prehistory

Hammers and worked tools have been found on the hill of Grazailles at Carcassonne, dating from between 690,000 and 300,000 years ago. Most interesting is the skull of Tautavel Man, discovered in 1971 by Henry de Lumley in the commune of Tautavel in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. It is the oldest-known skull in Europe. It dates from about 450,000 years BC. It is likely that Tautavel Man lived in all of this region.

Roman Era

The Romans, led by the consul-general Domitius Ahenobarbus, first occupied the oppidum of Montlaurès in 118 BC, a few kilometres to the north of Narbonne. This became the provincial capital and a very active mercantile port. The position was strategically important since it stood at the crossroads of two Roman roads, the Via Aquitania and the Via Domitia, as well as by the sea near the mouth of the river Aude. Carcassonne became Latin in 30 BC with the creation of numerous grain farms. For almost two centuries, Aude enjoyed peace and strong economic growth.

Barbarian invasions

The Visigoths invaded the area in 435 AD at a time when Flavius Aetius, the Roman senator, was busy suppressing the Bagaudes, who were brigands or lawless types in central and northern Gaul. Roman authority was restored until 462. In 507, the victory of Clovis I at the battle of Vouillé permitted him to conquer Toulouse and Aquitaine. However, he could not recover the Aude territory, which, thanks to the help of the King of the Ostrogoths, remained in the hands of the Visigoths. His troops defeated Clovis's son in 508. The region was part of Septimania, so called because it was composed of seven bishoprics that the Visigoth kings had established there: Elne, Agde, Narbonne, Lodève, Béziers, Maguelonne, and Nîmes. Septimania covered the Aude but also the whole region of Languedoc-Roussillon.

Middle Ages

In 817, Louis le Débonnaire detached Carcassès and Razès from Septimania to reunite them with the marquisate of Toulouse and the kingdom of Aquitaine. The first Count of Carcassonne was Oliba from the family of the Counts of Barcelona. He established himself in 819. Razès was another county that was formed by an archbishop of Narbonne who had been chased from his town by the Saracens. He had transferred his episcopal seat to Razès and had procured the honours of the feudal title for the area. Narbonne formed a third county. Thus, in the ninth century, the département of Aude consisted of three counties: Carcassonne, Razès and Narbonne. In 880, the County of Razès was united by marriage to that of Carcassonne, never to be separated.

Catharism in Aude

In the 13th century, the region saw the development of Catharism: a dualistic Christian sect with similarities to Gnosticism. This religion was very quickly judged as heretical by the Catholic Church. Faced with its growing strength in the counties of Carcassonne and Toulouse, Pope Innocent III in 1209 declared a crusade against the Albigensians. The barons of the north united to form an army under the command of Simon de Montfort. Whereas the count of Toulouse Raymond VI received absolution, the Count of Carcassonne confronted the army alone. The city of Carcassonne became the refuge of numerous Cathars.

The Protestant crisis and economic expansion of the department

In 1561, religious troubles again arose at Carcassonne in the form of a Protestant crisis. Duke Henri I de Montmorency, the Governor of the Languedoc, joined the Reformed side in 1574. On the Catholic side, the Duke Anne de Joyeuse became head of the Catholic League. In September 1632, Henri II de Montmorency fought against the royal troops at the Battle of Castelnaudary and was defeated. He was condemned to death and executed at Toulouse.

The creation of the department

The present department is one of the original 83 departments created by the Constituent Assembly during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.
Administrative divisions were amended by the Act of 28 Pluviôse of Year 8, which created four arrondissements (reduced to three by Premier Raymond Poincaré in 1926) and reduced the number of cantons from 45 to 31.

The 20th century

The Aude enjoyed strong wine production whilst at the same time the grain farmers of Lauragais faced great difficulties. However, the department suffered from overproduction and a slump in sales of wine. In 1907 the crisis produced a winemakers' revolt. This led to the establishment of many Winemaking cooperatives in Aude from 1909.

Heraldry

Economy

Overview

Agriculture and fisheries

Aude is an agricultural area dominated by vineyards. In the east are the wines of Corbieres and La Clape, in the centre are Minervois and Côtes de Malepère, and in the south Limoux wine. In Lauragais grain is predominant, whereas in the Montagne Noire only sheep farming is possible. More recently there has been an increase in cultivation of olive trees for their oil.

Port-la-Nouvelle is the biggest fishing port in the department followed by Gruissan. In 1996 there were 127 vessels in Aude including 75 in Port-la-Nouvelle and 52 in Gruissan. These vessels were as follows:
* Fishing trawlers: 19 in Port-la-Nouvelle
* tuna boats: 2 in Port-la-Nouvelle
* small craft: 106 including 54 in Port-La-Nouvelle and 52 in Gruissan

Small craft are recreational boats such as dinghies with one man fishing a lake or motor launches with up to three people fishing in coastal waters. About 85% of small craft are intended for lake fishing as in the Étang de Thau.

Viticulture

Viticulture is the main economic activity of the department due to its rich and varied soils. It was the Greeks who established vineyards in Aude and the Romans who determined the rights of exploitation. The first vines were planted in Minervois in the 1st century.

But the grapes and wines were not consumer products or self-sufficient for many years. Cereals and olive trees dominated the fertile plains of Aude. It was at the beginning of the 19th century that the wine industry developed in Aude and the rest of Languedoc-Roussillon. Wine then became a consumer product. Higher output was needed and vineyards replaced cereals on the plains. There was an initial period of prosperity to 1850 before phylloxera appeared towards 1870. At the end of the 19th century, Aude experienced a second period of prosperity but there was a wine crisis triggered in 1901 because of over-production, fraud, and slumping sales. It reached its peak during the winemakers revolt in 1907. The wine growers regrouped themselves into winemaking cooperatives to prevent fraud and deception. In 1919 then in 1935, a law of AOC was adopted under the leadership of Jean Capus. The INAO was set up as a body to control the application of the new laws.

After the Second World War, the vineyards were revitalized and the region saw a mass of viticulture. The wine was produced in large quantities and satisfied a very demanding population. The product was supplied in large quantities at very low prices. In 1970 the market evolved replacing demand for quantity with demand for quality and causing a second wine crisis. Many events, negotiations, and attacks paralyzed the region and the economy. Emile Pouytès and the CRS Joel le Gof died at Montredon-des-Corbières on 4 March 1976 during this crisis. A large change in the Aude viticulture business started with a reorganization of the profession and the wine-growing region. Quality had to become the mark of wine from Aude.

The rich and varied soil of Aude together with abundant sunshine abounds enables Aude to produce quality wines. Many wines emanate from the department, ranging in quality from table wines to AOCs, passing through vins de pays and VDQS.

There are seven main areas of production:
* Cabardès AOC (1),
* Corbières AOC (6),
* Côtes Malepère AOC near Carcassonne (2),
* Coteaux du Languedoc on the plain of Narbonnais (5),
* Fitou AOC (7),
* Limoux wine (3),
* Minervois AOC (4).

These areas produce different wines such as '' Blanquette de Limoux'', Chardonnay and sparkling wine from Limoux, ''La Clape'', Corbières, Fitou, and Cabardès.

Industry and energy

Industrial activity is strong in the upper valley of the Aude. It has been especially prominent around Limoux since the late nineteenth century; and the Lafarge brick plant there is still booming.

Since the 1970s, however, the Aude has seen a rapid decline in its traditional industries such as shoe and hat making. More recent activity is mostly centred around Narbonne, particularly dock facilities and oil depots in Port-la-Nouvelle.

From 1889, the high valley of Aude became increasingly important in generating hydroelectric power. Aude was the first department in France to transmit such power, from its plants at Alet-les-Bains and Quillan-Saint-Georges supplied the cities of Carcassonne and Narbonne at 20 kilovolts.

Today Aude is the leading department in France for the number of wind turbines installed. There are 113 in operation. They produce some 91 megawatts, which is the domestic electricity consumption of about 100,000 people. With the proliferation of these machines, the prefecture is seeking to establish with stakeholders a charter of good conduct for wind turbines.

Crafts

Crafts are very well represented in Aude with 14.6% of the population involved. Some 5,400 businesses operating in 250 craft professions achieved in the late 1990s an annual turnover of 3 billion francs (400 million Euros).

Demography

The inhabitants of Aude are known as 'Audois'. The 1990 census confirmed a growth in population since the 1960s with about 700 people more per year. This growth is explained by the return of pensioners aged over 60 years to their place of origin and to immigration from the Mediterranean basin.

At the last census, the population of Aude represented 0.5% of the French population and 14.1% of the population of Languedoc-Roussillon. It is predominantly rural with a density of 48 inhabitants per km², which is slightly less than half the national average. The two main cities, Carcassonne and Narbonne, are medium-sized cities comprising only one third of the inhabitants of the department. In 2017, the department had 370,260 inhabitants.

Transport

Two major roads cross the Aude. From west to east the A61 autoroute (Autoroute des Deux Mers) connects Narbonne and Toulouse via Carcassonne. From north to south, following the Mediterranean coast, the A9 autoroute links Montpellier with Spain.

The rail network follows the same route as the road network. It is a low speed system, but a project is under way to build a fast line to Spain as part of the Trans-European Rail network.

Finally, Aude is crossed by the Canal du Midi which is a major waterway that allows tourists to pass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. It comes into the west of Aude at Seuil de Naurouze then joins the Mediterranean at Sète.

Politics

The people of Aude expressed royalist opinions until the end of the Bourbon Restoration. In 1830 republican ideas began to develop and made this department a bastion of the left. This growth is symbolized by two men, Armand Barbès and Theophile Marcou. Armand Barbès is a symbol of the struggle for a social democratic Republic.

It was in Aude that François Mitterrand had his highest score in the 1981 presidential election with just over 63% of the vote.

Only affluent coastal areas surrounding Narbonne and the department's prefecture, Carcassonne give consideration to the right.

The President of the Departmental Council is Hélène Sandragné of the Socialist Party.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Education

Aude department in 2008 had 364 primary schools (schools of the first degree) serving 30,771 students.
Academic inspection of the Aude
, accessed 25 June 2009, Ac-montpellier.fr, accessed 16 August 2010 Between 2000 and 2007, primary school enrollment steadily increased from 28,331 students to 30,491 students At secondary level, the department had 31 colleges and 17 public and private high schools for about 23,000 students in 2006.

Education in Aude now includes teaching in the Occitan language.

Culture

Festivals and traditions

The Carnival of Limoux is an Aude festival which takes place over a period of ten weeks or more. This is one of the longest carnivals in the world. It takes place in the town of Limoux on the Place de la République every weekend from mid-January to the end of March. It is characterized by bands in Pierrot costumes (known as ''les fécos'') accompanied by musicians. In the region around Limoux a major celebration of gastronomy known as ''Toques et Clochers'' (literally, "Tall Hats & Steeples') organized by the winegrowers from Sieur d'Arques' takes place over the weekend of Palm Sunday. It permits the sale of a large quantity of wine in order to enhance local patronage.

Sport

Aude is the land of rugby league (rugby à XIII) with the teams of Limoux, Carcassonne and Lézignan among the elite. Puig Aubert (1925–1994) was a famous rugby league player who played with AS Carcassonne. There are numerous amateur rugby league clubs dotted all over the area.

Rugby union (rugby à XV) is also played in Aude. It appeared early in the twentieth century and the US-Quillan club dominated in the late 1920s. Jean Bourrel won the title in 1929 against Lézignan. After the Second World War, the Carcassonne team took the lead. Recently, however, rugby union in the Aude has faced an uphill struggle in a sport that has become both globalized and more professional. The Narbonne team (known as Racing Club Narbonne-Mediterranean) has nevertheless managed to develop in the Pro D2 championship.

Every 15 August, in Quillan