Fourcès

French commune
nomcommune=Fourcès
région=Midi-Pyrénées
département=Gers
arrondissement=Condom
canton=Montréal
insee=32133
cp=32250


maire=Daniel Bellot
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=
longitude=0.23083
latitude=43.9938
alt moy=65 m
alt mini=64
alt maxi=180 m
hectares=2372
km²=23.72
sans=277
date-sans=1999
dens=11
date-dens=1999

Fourcès is a commune in southwestern France, more precisely in Gascony, in the Gers department, which is a part of the region of Midi-Pyrénées.

Geography

The area of Fourcès amounts to 23,1 km², the density of population is 12,8 inhabitants per km². It is not far away from Castelnau-d'Auzan and Montréal.

Administration

The commune is a part of the canton of Montréal where at the last population count (1999) on a surface of more then 240 km² lived only 4.741 inhabitants.

Demography

The graph herewith indicates the evolution of the population.(source: INSEE). ImageSize = width:250 height:200 PlotArea = left:40 right:10 top:10 bottom:20 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = justify Colors = id:gray1 value:gray(0.9) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1960 till:2010 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1960 PlotData = bar:600 color:gray1 width:1 from:start till:end bar:400 color:gray1 from:start till:end bar:200 color:gray1 from:start till:end bar:0 color:gray1 LineData = layer:front points:(48,171)(84,153) color:blue width:2 #1962 tot 1968. Inwonertal 1962: 532 1968: 468 points:(84,153)(100,125) color:blue width:2 #1975: 372 points:(100,125)(128,121) color:blue width:2 #1982: 356 points:(128,121)(160,112) color:blue width:2 #1990: 324 points:(160,112)(196,98) color:blue width:2 #1999: 277 points:(196,98)(228,104) color:blue width:2 #2004/5

In 2005 there were 295 inhabitants (2005).

Character, monuments and history of the canton

Fourcès is a typical medieval bastide, a little village where the houses are built in a circle to allow a proper defence.

Because of its landscapes and its vineyards the Gers is now and then called by some the "Tuscany of France". The summers are long and warm; the winters are warm and short.

In the neighbourhood are numerous old castles, little medieval walled villages, small cities built around castles and "sacred" places, because the Via Podiensis and the Way of St. James of Compostela are going through the Montréal and left their traces.

* The arena for the course Landaise for example in Castelnau-d'Auzan.
* Old Armagnac caves.
* The bastide of Bretagne-d'Armagnac.
* The Bastide Gasconne of Fourcès.
* The city of Montréal-du-Gers with a medieval bastide.
* The city of Eauze and its Roman treasure.
* The fortified village of Larressingle.
* The Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac, in Montréal-du-Gers.
* The Ganaderia de Buros.
* The museum of D'Artagnan in Lupiac.
* The Spa of Barbotan-les-Thermes in Cazaubon.

External links

* [http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&formtype=latlong&latlongtype=degrees&latdeg=43&latmin=59&latsec=0&longdeg=0&longmin=13&longsec=0&zoom=6 Location of the commune (map with scale 1:100.000) on Mapquest]
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=32133&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE More statistitical information concerning the commune on www.insee.fr]