Arzens

Arzens (French pronunciation: [aʁzɛ̃s] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southern France.

Arzens
Commune
The old Town Hall
Coat of arms
Location of Arzens
Arzens Show map of France Arzens Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°12′00″N 2°13′00″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Carcassonne
Canton	La Malepère à la Montagne Noire
Intercommunality	Carcassonne Agglo
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Claude Pistre[1]
Area 1	21.11 km2 (8.15 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	1,202
• Density	57/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
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.

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[3]

Heraldry

Arms of Arzens

Blazon: Argent, the letter A in Gules.

Administration

The Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors^[4]

From	To	Name
2001	2008	André Gol
2008	2026	Jean-Claude Pistre

Twinning

Arzens has twinning associations with:^[5]

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

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arzenais or Arzenaises in French.^[6]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 902 —     1800 813 −1.47% 1806 832 +0.39% 1821 958 +0.94% 1831 932 −0.27% 1836 1,037 +2.16% 1841 1,011 −0.51% 1846 1,054 +0.84% 1851 1,088 +0.64% 1856 971 −2.25% 1861 945 −0.54% 1866 895 −1.08% 1872 867 −0.53% 1876 909 +1.19% 1881 1,022 +2.37% 1886 1,172 +2.78% 1891 1,083 −1.57% 1896 1,167 +1.51%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,173 +0.10% 1906 1,166 −0.12% 1911 1,070 −1.70% 1921 1,074 +0.04% 1926 1,049 −0.47% 1931 1,253 +3.62% 1936 1,094 −2.68% 1946 1,020 −0.70% 1954 1,007 −0.16% 1962 989 −0.23% 1968 966 −0.39% 1975 833 −2.09% 1982 933 +1.63% 1990 971 +0.50% 1999 1,003 +0.36% 2007 1,126 +1.46% 2012 1,185 +1.03% 2017 1,238 +0.88%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE[8]

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)^[9]
• War Memorial at the Promenade (First World War)^[10]
• Fountain of the Republic in the Place de la Mairie (19th century)^[11]

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Genès

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

• Monumental Cross (1649)^[12]
• Monument to Saint Dominique^[13]
• Church of Saint-Genès (13th century)^[14][15] The church contains many objects registered as historical objects. These are:
  • Altar cross (17th century)^[16]
  • Reliquary-Monstrance of Saint Roch (18th century)^[17]
  • Bronze Bell (16th century)^[18]
  • Incense holder and Thurible (19th century)^[19]
  • Casket for holy oil (18th century)^[20]
  • Ciborium (18th century)^[21]
  • Chalice with Paten (18th century)^[22]

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, pointillist painter, friend of Aristide Maillol

See also

• Communes of the Aude department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. Google Maps
4. List of Mayors of France (in French)
5. National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (in French)
6. Le nom des habitants du 11 - Aude, habitants.fr
7. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Arzens, EHESS (in French).
8. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
9. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102541 Chateau (in French)
10. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM11000186 War Memorial (in French)
11. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM11000188 Fountain of the Republic (in French)
12. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102542 Monumental Cross (in French)
13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM11000185 Monument to Saint Dominique (in French)
14. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00102543 Church of Saint-Genès (in French)
15. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA11000025 Church of Saint-Genès (in French)
16. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001716 Altar Cross (in French)
17. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001715 Reliquary-Monstrance (in French)
18. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11001714 Bronze bell (in French)
19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000600 Incense holder and Thurible (in French)
20. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000599 Casket for holy oil (in French)
21. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000598 Ciborium (in French)
22. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM11000597 Chalice with Paten (in French)

External links

• Arzens on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Arzens on the 1750 Cassini Map