Foix

View of Chateau de Foix in Lazema area

Flag

Coat of arms

Foix

Location within Occitanie region

Foix

Coordinates: 42°57′59″N 1°36′28″E / 42.9664°N 1.6078°ECoordinates: 42°57′59″N 1°36′28″E / 42.9664°N 1.6078°E

Country

Foix-Ville

Pays de Foix

Government

• Mayor (Since 2014)

Norbert Meler (PS)

Area¹

19.32 km² (7.46 sq mi)

Population (2007)²

9,712

• Density

500/km² (1,300/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

09122 / 09000

Elevation

358–933 m (1,175–3,061 ft)
(avg. 400 m or 1,300 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Foix (French pronunciation: [fwa]; Occitan: Fois [ˈfujs, ˈfujʃ]; Catalan: Foix [ˈfoʃ]) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. Today it is the Préfecture of the Ariège department in southwestern France in the Occitanie region. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas. It lies south of Toulouse, close to the border with Spain and Andorra. At the 2009 census, the city had a population of 9,861 people. It is only the second city of the department after Pamiers which is one of the two sub-prefectures.

The Romans built a fort on the rocky hill where the Château de Foix castle now overlooks the town. The town of Foix probably owes its origin to an oratory founded by Charlemagne, which afterwards became the Abbey of Saint Volusianus in 849. The current area was preceded by the County of Foix.

The founding, in 849, of the Abbey Saint-Volusien allowed the development of urban living in the tenth century to the twelfth century. The city reached its peak in the fourteenth century.

...
Wikipedia