Cahors#Culture

File:Cahors Hotel Roaldes.jpg

Cahors has had a rich history since Celtic times. The original name of the town was Divona or Divona Cadurcorum, "Divona of the Cadurci," Divona was a fountain, now called "la fontaine des Chartreux", worshiped by the Cadurci, a Celtic people of Gaul before the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. The Cadurci were among the last Celtic tribes to resist the Roman invasion. Cahors derives from Cadurcorum.Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (Boydell and Brewer, 1997, originally published 1994 in German), p. 52. However, romanization was rapid and profound: Cahors became a large Roman city, with many monuments whose remnants can be seen today. It has declined economically since the Middle Ages, and lost its university in the 18th century. Today it is a popular tourist centre with people coming to enjoy its medieval quarter and the 14th-century fortified Valentré bridge. It is the seat of the Diocese of Cahors.

It was also notorious at that time for the financiers widely known as Cahorsins, Christians who charged interest on their loans. The church in these times said that using money as an end in itself (usury) was a sin. Because of this Cahors became synonymous with this sin, and was mentioned in Dante's Inferno (XI.50) alongside Sodom as wicked.

Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze or d'Euse, was born in Cahors in 1244, the son of a shoemaker.

In the 2007 Tour de France, Cahors was the start of stage 18. Cahors also in the 2022 Tour de France was the finish of stage 19.

The town is situated {{convert|115|km|0|abbr=on}} north of Toulouse, on the RN20 / A20, connecting the city, via Limoges to Paris and Orléans. The town's height above sea level is between {{convert|105|m|0|abbr=off}} and {{convert|332|m|0|abbr=off}}. The area of the town is {{convert|64.72|km2|2|abbr=off}}, with population density relatively high for France at {{convert|309|PD/km2}}.[http://professionnels.ign.fr/rgc#tab-3 Répertoire géographique des communes'', publié par l'Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108205314/http://professionnels.ign.fr/rgc#tab-3 |date=8 January 2015 }} {{in lang|fr}}

{{Historical populations

|source = INSEE[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-46042#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE

|percentages = pagr

|align = none

|graph-pos = right

|1968 |19128

|1975 |20226

|1982 |19707

|1990 |19735

|1999 |20003

|2007 |20093

|2012 |19991

|2017 |19878

}}

File:Cahors Bridge.JPG

File:On the bridge in Cahors.JPG

File:Cahors - Amphithéâtre - parking amphithéâtre allées Fénelon -319.jpg

• The Valentré Bridge, the symbol of the town. Building began in 1308 and was completed in 1378. The legend associated with this bridge is one of the most fully realized of all Devil's Bridge legends, with a carefully developed plot, complex characters, and a surprising dénouement. When the bridge was restored in 1879, the architect Paul Gout made reference to this by placing a small sculpture of the devil at the summit of one of the towers.
• Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, a national monument.
• Saint-Barthélémy Church (14th century).
• Maison Henri IV or Hôtel de Roaldès (15th century).
• Daurade quarter with:
• Maison Hérétié (14th–16th centuries)
• Maison Dolive (17th century)
• Maison du Bourreau (13th century)
• The barbican that once defended the Barre Gate.
• Tour des pendus.
• Palais Duèze.
• Tower of Pope John XXII.
• Collège Pélegry.
• Cloister
• Arc de Diane, a relic of ancient Roman baths.
• Roman Amphitheatre – remains of an oval amphitheatre were revealed when the underground car park was excavated at the Place Gambetta, just west of, and partially beneath, Boulevard Gambetta in the city centre. The stone walls can be seen in the car park first level, below the statue of Leon Gambetta, and opened to the public in April 2009.

File:Cahors Chateau.jpg and vineyard]]

{{Main|Cahors wine}}

The area around Cahors produces wine, primarily robust and tannic red wine. Wine from the Cahors appellation must be made from at least 70% Malbec (also called Cot, Auxerrois and Pressac) grape, with a maximum of 30% Merlot or Tannat grape varieties.

The Cahors Blues Festival has taken place annually, in July, since 1982.

From 1331 to 1751 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cahors managed the {{Interlanguage link|University of Cahors|fr|Université de Cahors}}.

Pope John XXII granted a charter on 7 June 1331.{{cite book|author=M.J. Baudel|title=Histoire de l'Université de Cahors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PtUHhZzjsMgC|year=1876|publisher=Layton|language=la, fr|pages=7–14}}

The university had three colleges at Cahors: Pélegry (1358), Rodez (1371), and San Michel (1473).{{cite book|author=Hastings Rashdall|title=The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages: pt. 1. Italy. Spain. France. Germany. Scotland, etc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rIZKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA180|year=1895|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|pages=179–180}} Fénelon studied at this institution, which, in 1751, was dissolved as a separate institution and annexed to the University of Toulouse.{{cite book|author=Patric Ferté|title=L'Université de Cahors au XVIIIe [i.e. dix-huitième] siècle: 1700-1751 le coma universitaire au siècle des Lumières|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCq7AAAAIAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Verf.|location=Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe|language=fr}} The institution had faculties covering theology, law, medicine, arts and literature.

The university dissolved in 1751 and faculties annexed into the University of Toulouse.

File:ClementMarot.jpg]]

File:Marcel Marceau - 1971.jpg, 1971]]

• {{main category|People from Cahors}}
• Gerald of Braga (died 1109), Benedictine monk and Bishop of Braga
• Jacques de Via (died 1317) & Arnaud de Via (died 1335), Roman Catholic cardinals
• Pope John XXII (1244 – 1334), Pope from 1316 to 1334, born Jacques Duèze.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= John XXII (pope) | volume= 15 |last1= Alphandéry |first1= Paul Daniel |author1-link= | pages = 436–437 |short=1}}
• Clément Marot (1496–1544), a Renaissance poet.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Marot, Clément | volume= 17 |last1= Saintsbury |first1= George |author1-link= George Saintsbury | pages = 748–749 |short=1}}
• Blaise Gisbert (1657–1731), a Jesuit rhetorician and critic.{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle= Blaise Gisbert |volume= 6 |last= Debuchy |first= Paul |author-link= |short= 1}}
• Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751), Jesuit priest and writer.
• Antoine Cavalleri (1698–1765), Jesuit professor of maths during the Age of Enlightenment
• Jean-Baptiste Bessières (1768 in Prayssac – 1813), 1st Duke of Istria, military commander and Marshal of the Empire.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Bessières, Jean Baptiste | volume= 3 | pages = 823–824 |short= 1}}
• Charles Combes (1801–1872), engineer, his name is on the Eiffel Tower
• Léon Gambetta (1838-1882), lawyer, politician and statesman; proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Gambetta, Léon | volume= 11 |last1= Chisholm |first1= Hugh |author1-link= Hugh Chisholm | pages = 435–436 |short=1}}
• François Deloncle (1856–1922), an orientalist, journalist, diplomat and politician.
• Jules Combarieu (1859–1916), musicologist and music critic.
• Marie-Louise Dissard OBE GM (1881–1957), member of the French Resistance during WWII.
• Louis Darquier de Pellepoix (1897–1980), Commissioner-General for Jewish Affairs under the Vichy Régime
• Georges Gorse (1915-2002), politician and diplomat.
• Marcel Marceau (1923–2007), actor and mime artist, died in Cahors rest home.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/arts/24cnd-marceau.html/index.html |work=NYT |access-date=22 June 2020 |date=24 September 2007 |title=Marcel Marceau, Renowned Mime, Dies at 84 |agency=The New York Times}}
• Émile Parisien (born 1982), a soprano and alto saxophonist, jazz musician and composer.

• Philippe Benetton (born 1968), former rugby union footballer, now head coach
• Fabien Galthié (born 1969), rugby union player now head coach of the France national team.
• Oussama Souaidy (born 1981), a retired footballer who also played for Morocco.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|collapsed = Y

|location = Cahors (Le Montat) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1986–present)

|Jan record high C = 19.6

|Feb record high C = 25.9

|Mar record high C = 26.4

|Apr record high C = 31.0

|May record high C = 34.5

|Jun record high C = 40.2

|Jul record high C = 40.0

|Aug record high C = 43.3

|Sep record high C = 35.7

|Oct record high C = 34.6

|Nov record high C = 23.8

|Dec record high C = 18.3

|Jan record low C = -20.0

|Feb record low C = -12.5

|Mar record low C = -11.6

|Apr record low C = -3.2

|May record low C = 0.4

|Jun record low C = 4.0

|Jul record low C = 7.2

|Aug record low C = 5.1

|Sep record low C = 2.0

|Oct record low C = -5.8

|Nov record low C = -8.7

|Dec record low C = -11.4

|Jan high C = 9.1

|Feb high C = 10.9

|Mar high C = 15.1

|Apr high C = 18.2

|May high C = 22.0

|Jun high C = 25.9

|Jul high C = 28.7

|Aug high C = 28.7

|Sep high C = 24.4

|Oct high C = 19.3

|Nov high C = 12.9

|Dec high C = 9.6

| year high C = 18.7

|Jan mean C = 5.4

|Feb mean C = 6.2

|Mar mean C = 9.6

|Apr mean C = 12.3

|May mean C = 15.8

|Jun mean C = 19.5

|Jul mean C = 21.8

|Aug mean C = 21.8

|Sep mean C = 17.9

|Oct mean C = 14.1

|Nov mean C = 8.8

|Dec mean C = 6.0

| year mean C = 13.3

|Jan low C = 1.7

|Feb low C = 1.5

|Mar low C = 4.2

|Apr low C = 6.5

|May low C = 9.6

|Jun low C = 13.1

|Jul low C = 15.0

|Aug low C = 14.9

|Sep low C = 11.5

|Oct low C = 9.0

|Nov low C = 4.8

|Dec low C = 2.3

| year low C = 7.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 76.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 60.2

|Mar precipitation mm = 60.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 73.4

|May precipitation mm = 80.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 78.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 49.6

|Aug precipitation mm = 60.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 69.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 65.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 73.5

|Dec precipitation mm = 76.9

|year precipitation mm = 824.6

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 11.8

| Feb precipitation days = 10.0

| Mar precipitation days = 10.2

| Apr precipitation days = 10.4

| May precipitation days = 10.1

| Jun precipitation days = 8.0

| Jul precipitation days = 6.6

| Aug precipitation days = 7.2

| Sep precipitation days = 8.0

| Oct precipitation days = 9.1

| Nov precipitation days = 10.9

| Dec precipitation days = 11.7

| year precipitation days =114.1

|Jan sun = 84.1

|Feb sun = 128.2

|Mar sun = 168.8

|Apr sun = 193.3

|May sun = 220.7

|Jun sun = 250.6

|Jul sun = 272.0

|Aug sun = 253.0

|Sep sun = 221.0

|Oct sun = 152.8

|Nov sun = 103.0

|Dec sun = 94.3

|year sun = 2141.9

|source 1 = Meteociel{{cite web

|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=46197002

|title=Normales et records pour Le Montat (46)

|publisher=Meteociel

|access-date=14 December 2024}}}}

• Communes of the Lot department

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons}}

{{EB1911 poster|Cahors}}

• [https://cahorsagglo.fr/ Official website] {{in lang|fr}}
• {{Structurae|id=20003244|title=Cahors Cathedral}}

{{Préfectures of départements of France}}

{{Lot communes}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Celtic archaeological sites

Category:Communes of Lot (department)

Category:Prefectures in France

Category:Roman amphitheatres in France

Category:Gallia Aquitania

Category:Quercy