Moissac () is a commune in the

Tarn-et-Garonne Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...

department in the Occitanie

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in southern

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 ...

. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through the town and between Valence-d'Agen and Castelsarrasin. It is served by Moissac station on the Bordeaux-Toulouse line.

History

Initially Moissac was part of the department of Lot. In 1808,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

decreed the city be attached to the new department of

. It was the chief town of the district from 1800 to 1926. Moissac was heavily damaged in March 1930 by

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

of the Tarn, which devastated much of southwestern France. It was counted as a 100-year flood. One hundred twenty people were reported to have died in the city. In 2020,

National Rally The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...

politician Romain Lopez was elected mayor.

Moissac Abbey

Moissac is known internationally for the artistic heritage preserved in the medieval

Moissac Abbey Moissac Abbey was a Benedictine and Cluniac monastery in Moissac, Tarn-et-Garonne in south-western France. A number of its medieval buildings survive, including the abbey church, which has a famous and important Romanesque sculpture around t ...

. This church is a site on the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. Saint-Pierre Church, former abbey church with the portal (1130), one of the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture. All that remains of the 11th-century building is the massive bell tower-porch, a sort of keep with a walkway, built for defensive purposes but whose top floor only dates from the end of the Gothic period.

Sights

* Church of Saint-Martin de Moissac. Parts of the church date from the 3rd century. The church has preserved paintings from the XIVth century. The church was classified as a historic monument in 1922.Eglise Saint-Martin. Ministere de la Culture France.
/ref> * Church of Saint-Michel de Moissac. The old Saint-Michel de Moissac church located at 49 rue Malaveille, mentioned in 1073, but its origin can be older.

Population

Waterways

There are important waterways in Moissac: the Tarn flows through the centre of town, as does the Canal de Garonne (formerly Canal latéral à la Garonne), the extension of the Canal du Midi from

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 ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. Together, these two canals are sometimes known as the ''Canal des deux mers'' (lit. canal of the two seas) connecting the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

with the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Twin towns

Astorga, Spain Astorga (, Leonese language, Leonese: ''Estorga'') is a municipality and city of Spain located in the central area of the province of León, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, southwest of the provincial capital. It is located in t ...

References

External links

Moissac tourist office website

The Devils of Moissac Online Exhibition

{{Authority control Communes of Tarn-et-Garonne Quercy World Heritage Sites in France