Montesquieu-Avantès
| Montesquieu-Avantès | |
|---|---|
| Commune | |
 The church in Montesquieu-Avantès | |
  Montesquieu-Avantès Location within Occitanie region  Montesquieu-Avantès | |
| Coordinates: 43°01′28″N 1°11′51″E / 43.0244°N 1.1975°ECoordinates: 43°01′28″N 1°11′51″E / 43.0244°N 1.1975°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitanie |
| Department | Ariège |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Girons |
| Canton | Portes du Couserans |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Éliane Milhorat |
| Area1 | 16.52 km2 (6.38 sq mi) |
| Population (2008)2 | 239 |
| • Density | 14/km2 (37/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 09204 /09200 |
| Elevation |
430–690 m (1,410–2,260 ft) (avg. 470 m or 1,540 ft) |
|
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Montesquieu-Avantès is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.
History
Montesquieu-Avantès has a significant prehistory in Occitania. The cave-complex was carved out by the Volp River resulting in three extensive caverns: Enlène, Trois-Frères and Tuc d'Audoubert[1]. They were discovered by the Begouën family.
The caves contain unique works of art. The Salle des Bisons features two masterfully modelled bison, which were sculpted in clay with a stone spatula-like tool 17,000 years ago and the imprint of the artist's fingers. The pair are among the largest and finest surviving prehistoric sculptures.[2]
Occupied in the Upper Palaeolithic, and notably in the Magdalenian Epoch, the caves have been studied extensively. The studies of Tuc d'Audoubert were compiled in 2009 in a monograph entitled "The Secret Sanctuary of the Bison". A subsequent book entitled "The Cave of the Three Brothers" ("La Caverne des Trois-Frères") documents a century of research. It was published in 2014 on the centenary of its discovery, on July 20, 1914.
These extremely fragile caves are closed to the public for the purposes of preservation.
Montesquieu was a country house founded in 1272 on the initiative of the Comte de Comminges Bernard VI.
Population
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1793 | 520 | — |
| 1800 | 744 | +43.1% |
| 1806 | 680 | −8.6% |
| 1821 | 786 | +15.6% |
| 1831 | 815 | +3.7% |
| 1836 | 830 | +1.8% |
| 1841 | 831 | +0.1% |
| 1846 | 810 | −2.5% |
| 1851 | 833 | +2.8% |
| 1856 | 772 | −7.3% |
| 1861 | 743 | −3.8% |
| 1866 | 734 | −1.2% |
| 1872 | 733 | −0.1% |
| 1876 | 734 | +0.1% |
| 1881 | 712 | −3.0% |
| 1886 | 662 | −7.0% |
| 1891 | 642 | −3.0% |
| 1896 | 634 | −1.2% |
| 1901 | 609 | −3.9% |
| 1906 | 613 | +0.7% |
| 1911 | 558 | −9.0% |
| 1921 | 515 | −7.7% |
| 1926 | 477 | −7.4% |
| 1931 | 462 | −3.1% |
| 1936 | 431 | −6.7% |
| 1946 | 386 | −10.4% |
| 1954 | 349 | −9.6% |
| 1962 | 375 | +7.4% |
| 1968 | 323 | −13.9% |
| 1975 | 265 | −18.0% |
| 1982 | 280 | +5.7% |
| 1990 | 270 | −3.6% |
| 1999 | 240 | −11.1% |
| 2008 | 239 | −0.4% |
See also
References
- ↑ Association Louis Begouën. "Cavernes du Volp" (in French).
- ↑ Kleiner, Fred (2009). Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume 1. p. 36. ISBN 0495573604.
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