History History

Mousterian period, first human occupation in the Mas-d'Azil cave.

This is where the history of the Ariège really begins. Our department is one of the richest in decorated caves of the upper paleolithic. The caves of Niaux, La Vache, Alliat, Bédeilhac, correspond (within a few centuries) to this period.

The Magdalenians populated the Ariège and the Mas d'Aziz cave, thus becoming the Azilians.

The glaciers descend into the valleys. In the plains graze large herbivores, such as mammoths, reindeer, horses or bison.

All of Gaul is occupied. All of it? Yes, even our department. The current Ariège was then inhabited by various peoples of Iberian origin, at least in the region of the county of Foix. The Romans left many traces of their passage: roads, monuments, square towers, remains of camps, coins, various objects.

Christianity begins to appear thanks to Saint Sernin and his disciples. The bishopric of Couserans is created with Saint Valère, who is named Valier (from which the famous peak is named) as the first titular

Roman presence attested in Pamiers, Saint-Jean de Verges, Saint-Lizier and Saint-Girons.

According to the legend, Saint Lizier would have defended by his prayers the capital Lugdunum Consoronarum (ancient name of the city of Saint-Lizier) against the Visigoths and would have saved it. Around 780, determined to fight the invaders, Charlemagne went up the Ariège and camped in the small plain of Tarascon at the Pré Lombard (where a campsite now stands!). He is said to have fought a glorious battle there on September 8. Following a miraculous apparition, the sanctuary of Notre-Dame-de-Sabart was built on the spot in recognition of the victory against the Saracens

Foundation of the Abbey of Saint-Volusien in Foix.

Creation of the County of Foix. That year, the first document mentioning the country and the castle of Foix was written. The Counts made the Sabarthes an almost inviolable and highly protected area, with 17 castles and 6 fortified caves.

The castle of Montsegur became one of the high places, physical and spiritual, of Catharism. It will undergo four sieges, three of which will be unsuccessful, until its fall.

Beginning of the crusade against the Albigensians with the infamous Simont de Montfort at its head.

After several months of siege, on March 16, more than 205 Cathars were burned at the stake. Not one of them renounced his beliefs and it is reported that men, women and children voluntarily threw themselves into the flames while singing.

A period of political and social reconstruction. A great number of villages, towns or boroughs were set up as communes with very liberal charters and were able to develop agriculture, trade and industry. Saint-Ybars in 1241, Mazères in 1252, La Bastide-de-Sérou in 1256, Le Mas-d'Azil in 1286... It is also the apogee of the bastides.

Governance of Gaston Fébus. The most famous of the counts of Foix will give a dazzling luster to his county as well as to that of Béarn. The lion of the Pyrenees became the Sun (Fébus) of the south.

Times are hard in Ariege which is affected by the great famine, the plague, the plundering of the Rovers and the 100 years war.

The department was hit by the religious wars between Protestants and Catholics. All the churches of the big cities were burned.

Richelieu ordered the destruction and dismantling of most of the castles and fortifications in the Ariège.

The States of Foix enthusiastically celebrated the advent of the 1st Republic and those that followed. A decree of the National Assembly of December 27, 1789 created the department of Ariège, with Foix as the center of administration because the city was located a day's ride from all the villages of the department.

The war of the Demoiselles shakes the forests of the Ariège. A jacquerie involving men disguised as women who attacked the representatives of the State following the new regulations of the forestry code.

This was the century of industrialization; the Ariège saw the proliferation and success of Catalan-style forges, which used a lot of wood to smelt the ore extracted from the numerous mines such as the one at Rancié. Railroads, trains and tramways snaked through the entire department. The paper and textile industry was at its peak.

The Ariege resisted massively and violently in many maquis thanks to the support of many Spanish guerrillas.

The department is living with the times and investing in the deployment of fiber optics that reach the most remote places. Some high-tech industries are flourishing and tourism is booming.