Mirande

Mirande (Occitan: Miranda) is a commune in the Gers department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the Occitanie region, southwestern France. It is the administrative center of the arrondissement of Mirande and of the canton of Mirande-Astarac.

Mirande
Subprefecture and commune
Mirande Town Hall
Coat of arms
Location of Mirande
Mirande Show map of France Mirande Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°31′N 0°24′E
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Gers
Arrondissement	Mirande
Canton	Mirande-Astarac
Intercommunality	Cœur d'Astarac en Gascogne
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Pierre Beaudran
Area 1	23.42 km2 (9.04 sq mi)
Population  (2014)	3,527
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Demonym	Mirandais
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	32256 /32300
Elevation	139–268 m (456–879 ft) (avg. 170 m or 560 ft)
Website	www.mirande.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

Mirande was founded in 1281 near the village of Saint-Jean de Lezian by the abbot Berdoues and by Bernhard IV, Count of Astarac. The town was built as a bastide (a fortified town). Miranda became, in 1297, the capital of the County of Astarac.^[1]

Mirande was surrounded by a wall with four city gates; the wall was destroyed during the 19th century.

Since 17 February 1800, Mirande is the capital of the arrondissement of Mirande.

Geography

Mirande is a commune found along the Baïse river in the Astarac, a natural region that is part of Gascony.

The commune has an area of 23.42 km² (9.04 sq mi) and its average altitude is 170 m (560 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 163 m (535 ft).^[2]

Mirande is at 20 km (12 mi) from Auch, 100 km (62 mi) from Toulouse, 45 km (28 mi) from Tarbes and 80 km (50 mi) from Lourdes.

Mirande and its neighboring communes

Mirande is surrounded by the following communes, all of them part of the arrondissement of Mirande: Estipouy and Mouchès to the north, Miramont-d'Astarac to the northeast, Idrac-Respaillès to the east, Saint-Médard to the southeast, Berdoues to the south, Saint-Martin and Monclar-sur-Losse to the west and Montesquiou to the northwest.

Climate

The climate of Mirande, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.

Population

The inhabitants of Mirande are known, in French, as Mirandais (women: Mirandaises).^[3]

With a population of 3,527 (2014),^[4] Mirande has a population density of 151 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Mirande

Gallery

• 
  St. Mary's Cathedral
• 
  St. Mary's Cathedral, Mirande
• 
  Museum of Fine Arts and Tourist Information Center, Mirande
• 
  Mirande Market Hall
• 
  The Astarac square, Mirande

Sister cities

Mirande is twinned with:^[5]

• Korntal-Münchingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• L'Eliana, Valencia, Spain
• San Mauro Torinese, Piedmont, Italy
• Tubize, Walloon Brabant, Belgium

Related pages

• Arrondissement of Mirande
• Communes of the Gers department