Moissac
Moissac | |
|---|---|
 Cloister of the Saint-Pierre abbey | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Moissac  | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitania |
| Department | Tarn-et-Garonne |
| Arrondissement | Castelsarrasin |
| Canton | Moissac-1 and Moissac-2 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2001–2008) | Jean-Paul Nunzi |
| Area 1 | 85.95 km2 (33.19 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | 12,773 |
| • Density | 150/km2 (380/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 82112 /82200 |
| Elevation | 59–199 m (194–653 ft) (avg. 76 m or 249 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Moissac is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the Garonne and Tarn River on the Canal de Garonne and Route nationale N113 between Valence-d'Agen and Castelsarrasin.
History
Initially Moissac was part of the department of Lot. In 1808 Napoleon decreed the city be attached to the new department of Tarn-et-Garonne[1]. It was the chief town of the district from 1800 to 1926.
Moissac was heavily damaged by floods in March 1930 that devastated much of southwestern France; 120 people were reported to have died in the city[2].
Moissac Abbey
Moissac is famous world-wide mostly for the artistic heritage preserved in the medieval Saint-Pierre Abbey. It is included in the World Heritage Site Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.
Waterways
There are important waterways in Moissac: the Tarn River flows through the centre of town, as does the Canal de Garonne (formerly Canal latéral à la Garonne), the extension of the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to Bordeaux. Together, these two canals are sometimes known as the Canal des deux mers (lit. canal of the two seas) connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea.
Twin towns
See also
References
- ^ 'Naissance du département de Tarn-et-Garonne' at [1]
- ^ Max Lagarrigue,L’inondation du siècle, mars 1930, in Les Caprices du Temps, revue Arkheia, n°21, Montauban, 2009.
External links
- Moissac tourist office website
- The Devils of Moissac Online Exhibition
- Abbaye St-Pierre Cloister and Portal Photos
