Castelsarrasin

Castelsarrasin () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of France. It is the second city in Tarn-et-Garonne with more people living in it, after Montauban.
It is a subprefecture in the department and the capital of the Castelsarrasin "arrondissement".
History.
The oldest written example of "Castelsarrasin", as "Castel Sarracenum", is from the year 961. It was written in the will of Raymond II of Rouergue where he gave the "Saint-Sauveur" church to the monastery of Moissac.
"Castel Sarracenum" ("Saracen Castle") was given that name because the castle was built in the Saracen era.
There were many wars during the early history of the city:
Later, the Hundred Years' War affected the region. Most people that lived in the city were Catholics but many Protestants lived around the city. Fights were common here between those two groups during the French Wars of Religion in the 16th century.
The region was more calm during the following centuries, up to the time of the French Revolution.
From 1790 to 1795, Castelsarrasin was the capital of the District of Castelsarrasin in the Haute-Garonne department. In 1808, when the Tarn-et-Garonne department was created, the arrondissement of Castelsarrasin was made part of the new department.
Geography.
Castelsarrasin is near the Garonne river, which runs through the southwest of the commune. The city is at to the west of Montauban, "préfecture" of the department.
It has an area of and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
The "communes" that are around Castelsarrasin are Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, Moissac, Les Barthes, La Ville-Dieu-du-Temple, Saint-Porquier, Cordes-Tolosannes, Saint-Aignan, Castelferrus and Castelmayran.
Climate.
The climate of Castelsarrasin, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.
Population.
The inhabitants of Castelsarrasin are known, in French, as "Castelsarrasinois" (women: "Castelsarrasinoises").
With a population in 2014 of 13,765, Castelsarrasin has a population density of inhabitants/km2.
Evolution of the population in Castelsarrasin
Administration.
Castelsarrasin is a subprefecture of the Tarn-et-Garonne department since 1809. It is also the capital of the "arrondissement" of Castelsarrasin and the administrative centre () of the canton Castelsarrasin with 6 "communes" and 20,937 inhabitants in 2014.
It is part of the intercommunality "Terres des confluences".
Twin cities.
Castelsarrasin is a twin town of:
Places of interest.
Some interesting places in Castelsarrasin are: