Balma (; ) is a commune in the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

department in southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is east of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. The name of the town comes from the old

Provençal Provençal may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Provence, a region of France ** Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France ** ''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language * Provenca ...

word meaning "

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

" or "

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

History

Balma was established in 1279 as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the bishopric of Toulouse.

Population

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Balmanais.

Sport

Balma is the home of

Championnat de France Amateurs The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2 ...

club,

Balma SC Balma Sporting Club is a football club founded located in Balma, France. Founded in 1957, they play their home matches at the Stade Municipal de Balma, which has a capacity of 4,000. As of the 2023–24 season, they play in Régional 1 The ...

Monument

Balma - La Mairie.jpg, Town hall Balma - Eglise saint-Joseph.jpg, Saint-Joseph church Eglise Saint Martin (Lasbordes) à BALMA.jpg, Saint-Martin-de-Boville church Balma - Ancienne Mairie.jpg, Public Library Balma - Monument aux Morts.jpg, War monument

References

External links