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Bastide (planned town)Gers

Mirande

Mirande

Dimensions
The regular bastide layout, the place d'Astarac and its streets drawn by the line, the market hall of the end of the 19th century combining wooden and iron framing and topped by a campanile, the former cathedral of Notre-Dame in southern Gothic style with its early stained-glass window in the Purgatory chapel, sometimes attributed to Arnaud de Moles, the tour de Rohan, keep of the comital castle, the tour du Bourreau and a few remains of the fortifications, as well as many half-timbered houses and fine 18th-century residences.
Period
Founded in 1281; capital of the Astarac from 1297; church of the beginning of the 15th century; taken in 1577; market hall of the end of the 19th century.
What stands there
The church of Notre-Dame has been classified as a monument historique since 1921 and the tour de Rohan inscribed since 1948. Mirande was founded on the same day as Pavie, its twin sister, by the same parties to the paréage. The Museum of Fine and Decorative Arts, born of a bequest of 1832, keeps the walking stick of Toussaint Louverture.

Mirande, on the Baïse, is the most accomplished new town of the Astarac. It was founded in 1281, near the village of Saint-Jean-de-Lézian, by Eustache de Beaumarchais, seneschal of Toulouse, in a paréage agreement with the abbot of Berdoues and Count Bernard IV of Astarac; the King of France, a party to the paréage, promised his support to the infant town, which received customs. The regular bastide layout, with its central square and its streets drawn by the line, was protected by a solid enclosure pierced by four gates, part of which survived until the 19th century. As early as 1297 Mirande became the capital of the county of Astarac. The former cathedral of Notre-Dame, in southern Gothic style, overlooks the town; the tour de Rohan, keep of the comital castle, and the tour du Bourreau recall the fortifications, while many half-timbered houses line the streets.

Further reading

Getting there : Free access to the village. Museum of Fine and Decorative Arts in the town; Mirande is best known for its agricultural fairs.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Mirande
AirScott · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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All places — Gers (34).