Arzens

Arzens
The old Town Hall
Coat of arms
Arzens
Location within Languedoc-Roussillon region  Arzens
Coordinates: 43°12′00″N 2°13′00″E / 43.2°N 2.2167°ECoordinates: 43°12′00″N 2°13′00″E / 43.2°N 2.2167°E
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Carcassonne
Canton	Montréal, Aude
Intercommunality	Malepère
Government
• Mayor (2008–2020)	Jean-Claude Pistre
Area^1	21.11 km^2 (8.15 sq mi)
Population (2010)^2	1,148
• Density	54/km^2 (140/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	11018 / 11290
Elevation	125–425 m (410–1,394 ft) (avg. 181 m or 594 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Arzens is a French commune in the Aude department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arzenais or Arzenaises.^[1]

Geography

Arzens is located in the urban area of Carcassonne some 11 km west of the city. Access to the commune is by road D119 from Carcassonne passing west through the north of the commune and continuing to Montréal. Access to the town is by road D38 from Sainte-Eulalie in the north to the town, by road D35 from Villesèquelande in the north-east, and by road D211 from Lavalette in the east which continues to join the D119 in the commune. The D43 road from Montreal in the west to Montclar in the south-east passes through the south of the commune. Road D911 goes south from the town to join the D43 in the commune. The A61 autoroute (European route E80) (Autoroute des Deux Mers) passes through the north of the commune but has no exit with the nearest being Exit 22 at Bram in the west or Exit 23 for Carcassonne west to the east. The south of the commune is mostly forest with the rest of the commune farmland and residential area around the town.^[2]

Numerous streams rise in the commune and flow north to join the Canal du Midi which passes east-west north of the commune. From west to east there are the Ruisseau de Saint-Pietre, the Ruisseau de la Mialauque, the Ruisseau de Falga, the Ruisseau d'Aribaud, the Ruisseau de Fontasse, and the Ruisseau du Saut which forms much of the eastern border of the commune.^[2]

Neighbouring communes and villages^[2]

Heraldry

Blazon: Argent, the letter A in Gules.

Administration

The Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors^[3]

From	To	Name	Party	Position
2001	2008	André Gol
2008	2020	Jean-Claude Pistre

(Not all data is known)

Twinning

Arzens has twinning associations with:^[4]

• Hattenheim (Germany) since 1963.
• Fontanile (Italy) since 1980.

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 1,148 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
902	813	832	958	932	1,037	1,011	1,054	1,088

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
971	945	895	867	909	1,022	1,172	1,083	1,167

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,173	1,166	1,070	1,074	1,049	1,253	1,094	1,020	1,007

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
989	966	833	933	971	1,003	1,102	1,148	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Arzens War Memorial

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

Arzens Chateau

Arzens have several structures that are registered as historical monuments. These are:

• Chateau (15th century)^[5]
• War Memorial at the Promenade (First World War)^[6]
• Fountain of the Republic in the Place de la Mairie (19th century)^[7]

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Genès

Several structures and objects have been registered as historical monuments. These are:

• Monumental Cross (1649)^[8]
• Monument to Saint Dominique^[9]
• Church of Saint-Genès (13th century)^[10][11] The church contains many objects registered as historical objects. These are:
  • Altar cross (17th century)^[12]
  • Reliquary-Monstrance of Saint Roch (18th century)^[13]
  • Bronze Bell (16th century)^[14]
  • Incense holder and Thurible (19th century)^[15]
  • Casket for holy oil (18th century)^[16]
  • Ciborium (18th century)^[17]
  • Chalice with Paten (18th century)^[18]

Arzens is a stage on the Way of St. James.

Notable people linked to the commune

• Jean-François de la Rocque de Roberval, Lord of Arzens (close to François I, friend of François Rabelais, head of the last expedition by Jacques Cartier to Québec)
• Achille Laugé, born at Arzens in 1861, died at Cailhau in 1944, pointilist painter, friend of Aristide Maillol

See also

• Communes of the Aude department

External links

• Arzens on Lion1906
• Arzens on Google Maps
• Arzens on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (French)
• Arzens on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Arzens on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)

Notes and references

Notes

1. At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by Law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002, the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" allows, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For communes with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these communes is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

1. Inhabitants of Aude (French)
2. Google Maps
3. List of Mayors of France (French)
4. National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (French)
5. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102541 Chateau (French)
6. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM11000186 War Memorial (French)
7. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM11000188 Fountain of the Republic (French)
8. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102542 Monumental Cross (French)
9. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM11000185 Monument to Saint Dominique (French)
10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102543 Church of Saint-Genès (French)
11. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA11000025 Church of Saint-Genès (French)
12. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001716 Altar Cross (French)
13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001715 Reliquary-Monstrance (French)
14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001714 Bronze bell (French)
15. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000600 Incense holder and Thurible (French)
16. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000599 Casket for holy oil (French)
17. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000598 Ciborium (French)
18. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000597 Chalice with Paten (French)