Mazamet (French pronunciation: [mazamɛ]; Languedocien: Masamet) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.

Mazamet
Panorama of Mazamet
Panorama of Mazamet
Coat of arms of Mazamet
Location of Mazamet
Map
Mazamet is located in France
Mazamet
Mazamet
Mazamet is located in Occitanie
Mazamet
Mazamet
Coordinates: 43°29′34″N 2°22′27″E / 43.4928°N 2.3742°E / 43.4928; 2.3742
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
DepartmentTarn
ArrondissementCastres
CantonMazamet-1 and Mazamet-2 Vallée du Thoré
IntercommunalityCA Castres Mazamet
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Olivier Fabre[1]
Area
1
72.08 km2 (27.83 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
10,064
 • Density140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
81163 /81200
Elevation213–1,176 m (699–3,858 ft)
(avg. 241 m or 791 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is the second-largest component of the Castres-Mazamet metropolitan area.

Geography

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Mazamet is situated on the northern slope of the Montagne Noire and on the Arnette, a small tributary of the Thoré, which forms the commune's northern border.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 16,171—    
1975 14,440−1.60%
1982 12,840−1.66%
1990 11,481−1.39%
1999 10,544−0.94%
2007 10,055−0.59%
2012 10,093+0.08%
2017 10,013−0.16%
Source: INSEE[3]

Economy

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The town made its wealth during the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was the world center of the wool industry. At its height, the town imported more than 100,000 tonnes of wool annually from the Southern Hemisphere. After processing, numerous establishments were involved in wool-spinning and in the manufacture of leather goods, gloves, blankets, hosiery and clothing for the troops. Mazamet was the biggest center of the wool pulling industry in Europe.[4][5] In 1906, 95% of French workers in the industry were employed in Tarn.[6][7] While the vast majority of Mazamet's wool industry ended in the early 1990s, the town still has a residual high-end leather industry with leather being purchased by a number of Paris & London fashion houses.[citation needed]

Today, Mazamet is known for tourism, thanks to its natural setting at the foothills of the Montagne Noire mountain range and being close to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Albi, Carcassonne and the Canal du Midi.[citation needed]

The town has a 65 km (40 mi) cycle path, plus numerous other cycling + walking routes.[citation needed]

Notable people

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Tour de France

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Mazamet was the start for Stage 14 in the 2007 Tour de France, finishing on the top of Plateau de Beille. The stage was won by Alberto Contador, who later went on to win the Tour. In 2018, Mazamet welcomed the race once again as it passed through on route to Carcassonne.

Twin towns

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Mazamet is twinned with:

See also

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References

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  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mazamet". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 939.

Notes

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  4. ^ The Wool Digest. International Wool Secretariat in the United States. 1949. p. 9. MAZAMET, FRANCE Development of Mazamet, France, as a world center for handling and treating sheepskins
  5. ^ World Wool Prospects. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. 1934. p. 18. France is the world's most important center for the wooleå sheepskin trade. Exports of wool ... The wool pulling industry is located chiefly at Mazamet.
  6. ^ Board, United States Tariff (1912). Wool and Manufactures of Wool: Message of the President of the United States, Transmitting a Report of the Tariff Board on Schedule K of the Tariff Law. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 60.
  7. ^ Jenkins, D. T.; Jenkins, David Trevor (2003). The Cambridge History of Western Textiles. Cambridge University Press. p. 768. ISBN 978-0-521-34107-3.
  8. ^ "Rybnik Official Website - Twin Towns". Urząd Miasta Rybnika. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
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Map of Mazamet and its surrounding communes