Alairac

History

The first written record of the castle appeared in 1063: the time of the probable construction of the circulade. The area belonged to the Count of Foix, the first of which was Roger I de Foix who was the second son of Bernard-Roger, Count of Bigorre. Over the years, he exchanged the County of Foix with the Viscount of Carcassonne several times to the Trencavel family. From the 11th century, the village was traversed by one of the paths to Saint Jacques de Compostela called "Path of the Pyrenean Piedmont". This pilgrimage continued until the 18th century. During the Albigensian Crusade at Easter 1210, Simon de Montfort besieged the castle at Alairac for eleven days at which the people, fearing they may have to surrender, fled by night. In 1309, the last known Cathar perfect, Guillaume Bélibaste, fled Catalonia with Philippe of Alayrac. The latter, on his return home after ten years of exile, was probably captured and burned. On hearing the sound of an approaching large company from Routiers in 1366, the officers of the Bailiwick of Carcassonne ordered the inhabitants of the castle at Alairac — which belonged to Jean d'Armagnac — to fortify it and destroy the surrounding area. Having failed to execute the order, the Viscount angrily set fire to the castle which was completely burned. Later, the Count of Armagnac ceded the land of Alairac to the Marquis of Mirepoix in 1404. The lordship was sold at the beginning of the 18th century to a citizen of Carcassonne. This lordship was extinguished by the Revolution in 1789. During the First World War from 1914 to 1918, the village lost nineteen people, whose names are inscribed on the memorial. Every year on 11 November, this sacrifice is remembered by reading their names during a ceremony attended by schoolchildren.…

Geography

The commune is in the urban area of Carcassonne and is located on a hillock at the foot of the Malepère mountain range. Alairac is a traditional circulade village dating to 1000AD. The commune has been part of the agglomeration community called Carcassonne Agglo since 1 January 2010. The commune is located some 80 km south-east of Toulouse and only 6 km south-west of Carcassonne. The Motorway E80 (A61) passes across the northern tip of the commune but has no exit. The commune can be reached by Road D18 from Carcassonne, which passes in a south-westerly direction through the heart of the commune towards Cailhau. Road D211 also passes through the commune from Arzens in the west to Lavalette in the east passing to the north of Alairac village. The village can be reached by a number of local roads from both the D211 and the D18. The commune is both farmland and forest with two small hamlets: Galet and Les Rougeats. Several streams pass through the commune. In the east the Ruisseau Saint Pierre forms the eastern border of the commune, the Ruisseau de Bonne Mere forms the southern boundary, and the Ruisseau du Sout forms the western boundary. Inside the commune there are several streams with the Ruisseau de Celule Ou Gautel passing near the village. All the streams eventually flow into the river Aude which continues east into the Mediterranean Sea. The village overlooks the plain where the Canal du Midi to the north of the commune towards Carcassonne and the view extends over a panorama limited to the north by the Montagne Noire (Black Mountain). To the north-east is the city of Carcassonne and to the south the Malepère mountain range covered in oak forest, the domain of wild boar and mushroom collectors. The village has an oceanic climate with a strong…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,483
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,355
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,340
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,272
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,137
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,121
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,054
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,044

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-12-29
  8 km NNE of Éller, Spain
• M 2.6 — 2008-11-26
  1 km WSW of Creissan, France
• M 2.8 — 2008-08-27
  14 km S of Quillan, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-03-28
  3 km N of Ribes de Freser, Spain
• M 2.9 — 2008-03-28
  2 km NW of Ribes de Freser, Spain
• M 2.5 — 2007-09-02
  9 km ESE of Gruissan, France