Barbazan, Haute-Garonne

Barbazan (French pronunciation: [baʁbazɑ̃]; Occitan: Barbasan) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.

Barbazan
Commune
The town hall in Barbazan
Coat of arms
Location of Barbazan
Barbazan Show map of France Barbazan Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°02′00″N 0°37′26″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement	Saint-Gaudens
Canton	Bagnères-de-Luchon
Intercommunality	Pyrénées Haut-Garonnaises
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Michelle Stradere[1]
Area 1	6.05 km2 (2.34 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	503
• Density	83/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	31045 /31510
Elevation	439–890 m (1,440–2,920 ft) (avg. 450 m or 1,480 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Barbazan is a Spa town in the Comminges region located some 13 km south-west of Saint-Gaudens and 12 km north of Cierp-Gaud. The western border of the commune is also the departmental border between Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées. Access to the commune is by Route nationale N125 which comes from the end of the A645 autoroute and passes down the western side of the commune south to Ore. The D26E road comes from Labroquère in the north-west and passes through the north of the commune ending in the village. The D26 comes from Valcabrère in the west and passes through the village continuing to Sauveterre-de-Comminges in the east. The D33D and the D33L go south from the village to join the N125. The commune has extensive forests in the east with some farmland in the west.^[3]

The Garonne river forms most of the western border of the commune as it flows north, passing through Toulouse, to eventually join the Dordogne to form the Gironde estuary at Bordeaux. Lake Barbazan, north-west of the village at 452 m above sea level, is of glacial origin. It is surrounded by moraine deposits: sub-glacial moraine from Cumania and rocky outcrops of moraine west of the Lake. The Ruisseau de Corp flows west from the lake to join the Garonne.^[3]

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[3]

Heraldry

Arms of Barbazan

Blazon: Vert, 3 jets of water Argent issuant from a fountain with antique base of Or on a wave Argent mouvant from base; in chief parti per pale: at 1 Gules with 4 otelles Argent addorsed saltrirewise, at 2 Azure with a cross of Or.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors^[4]

From	To	Name
1792	1800	Mathieu Monserbe
1800	1809	Joseph Dulac
1809	1815	Bertrand Monserie
1815	1818	Pierre Lapeyrade
1818	1822	Jean-Jacques Marie d'Astorg
1822	1828	Nicolas Bourbon
1828	1832	Jean-Marie Bon
1832	1840	Jean Dulac
1840	1843	Jean Pujole
1843	1847	Jean-Mathieu Descaillaux
1847	1848	Jean Mondon
1848	1852	Gilles Mondon
1852	1871	Jean-Louis Gilles Mondon
1871	1890	Théophile Dulac
1890	1924	Romain Dombernard
1924	1937	Mathieu Allemane

Mayors from the French Revolution to 1937

Mayors from 1937

From	To	Name
1937	1944	Baptiste Foucadet
1944	1947	André Casteix
1947	1947	Bertrand Fourcade
1947	1957	Pierre Pujole
1957	1960	Jacques Vollant
1960	1972	Paul Bertrand
1972	1977	Henri Fontagneres
1977	1985	Georges Guichard
1985	1989	Jean Serny
1989	2014	Henri Galy
2014	2026	Michelle Stradere

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barbazanais or Barbazanaises in French.^[5]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 425 —     1800 416 −0.31% 1806 450 +1.32% 1821 485 +0.50% 1831 520 +0.70% 1836 540 +0.76% 1841 535 −0.19% 1846 555 +0.74% 1851 547 −0.29% 1856 548 +0.04% 1861 547 −0.04% 1866 513 −1.28% 1872 516 +0.10% 1876 484 −1.59% 1881 459 −1.06% 1886 430 −1.30% 1891 456 +1.18% 1896 471 +0.65%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 431 −1.76% 1906 453 +1.00% 1911 427 −1.18% 1921 385 −1.03% 1926 381 −0.21% 1931 392 +0.57% 1936 421 +1.44% 1946 371 −1.26% 1954 438 +2.10% 1962 525 +2.29% 1968 516 −0.29% 1975 406 −3.37% 1982 386 −0.72% 1990 351 −1.18% 1999 378 +0.83% 2009 449 +1.74% 2014 441 −0.36% 2020 498 +2.05%
Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE[7]

Sites and monuments

Barbazan has two sites that are registered as historical monuments:

• The Chateau of Bagen (1544)^[8]
• The Flower Garden in the Chateau of Bagen on the D26 road^[9]

Other sites of interest

• The Thermal baths
• The Lake
• The Church of Saint-Michel

Notable people linked to the commune

• Jacques-Marie d'Astorg (1752-1822), Count of Astorg and Roquépine, Baron of Montégut, French soldier in the 18th and 19th centuries.

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Garonne department
• List of spa towns in France
• Thermal baths

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. Le nom des habitants du 31 - Haute-Garonne, habitants.fr
6. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Barbazan, EHESS (in French).
7. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
8. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094283 Chateau of Bagen (in French)
9. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA31010024 Flower Garden (in French)

External links

• Barbazan official website (in French)
• Barbazan Tourism website (in French)
• Barbazan on the Community of Communes of Haut-Comminges website (in French)
• Barbazan on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Barbazan on the 1750 Cassini Map