Castelsarrasin

The first certain trace of the existence of the TOWN dates back to 961, when Raymond I, Count of Rouergue, gave to the Abbey of Moissac in his testament, the church of St. Saviour and its land.Marked by wars against the English until the late 12th century and the Albigensian Crusade in the first half of the thirteenth century, Castelsarrasin, administered by consuls, received his first judicial practices (legal texts governing the city) in 1230.After being ravaged in the 14th and 15th centuries by floods, pestilence and especially by the Hundred Years War, religious wars raging in 1560. Castelsarrasin, a Catholic stronghold, is struggling with the rest of the rather Protestant region.The Church of St. Saviour is one of the few who escaped the destruction. It can be visited daily from 9 am to 18 pm. Free. It houses the relics of St Alpinien.From 1850 the town with 7000 inhabitants starts to grow and expand, particularly with the arrival of the railroad and the "Factory".In the 20th century, despite the terrible bloodletting of the two wars, the town continues to expand to this day and becomes the second economic site of the Tarn et Garonne.Indeed, Castelsarrasin keeps its industrial vocation while maintaining its way of life, thanks to its rich religious and historical architectural heritage, its typical streets of the Middle Ages, its canal (used by barges) the variety of its cuisine, its windows and flower gardens.

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