Ajac () is a commune in the

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 i ...

department, part of the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region, southern France.

Location

Ajac is 7 km from the local market town of

Limoux Limoux (; oc, Limós ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Aude department, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Occitanie region in southern France. Its vineyards are famous for being first to produce sparkling w ...

, and 30 km from the historic city of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

. Falling within the ancient region of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximatel ...

, Ajac is part of the

Pays Cathare Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...

, an area rich with

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

abbeys and castles.

Village Layout

Although not a Circulade like neighboring villages, Ajac is built upon a hill with the chateau at the top and center. The chateau was the ancestral home of the noble Montcalm and Lévis families, and birthplace of François Gaston de Lévis, Duc de Levis. Building of the chateau started in the 12th century, but has since had numerous alterations, most notably in the 18th century. It is now in private ownership. The church of Ajac is of Romanesque origin, but rebuilt in the 18th century. Sited within the foothills of the Eastern Pyrenees, the village is largely surrounded by agricultural land and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vine ...

s. Both red and white wine grapes are grown locally, most notably for the production of

Blanquette de Limoux Limoux wine is produced around the city of Limoux in Languedoc in southwestern France. Limoux wine is produced under four ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) designations: Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette méthode ancestrale, Crémant de ...

, claimed by some to predate champagne. Ajac

History

The village of Ajac was given the name of the local count. The local duke who was accused and hunted by the locals for accused treason against the king went into hiding. And the duke went into hiding. The duke was allowed to return on the condition that his authority not be passed on following his death. Therefore, Ajac remained independent until the French revolution and the establishment of the republic.

Administration

The current mayor of Ajac is Gérard Chaumond, reelected in 2020.

Population

Reversing the decline experienced by rural villages during the later half of the last century, the population of Ajac has latterly increased. A village school and part-time cafe have reopened to serve this changing demographic.

Personalities