Bages, Aude

Bages
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Coat of arms of Bages Coat of arms
Bages
Location within Languedoc-Roussillon region Bages
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Narbonne
Canton	Narbonne-Sud
Intercommunality	Le Grand Narbonne
Government
• Mayor (2008–2020)	Marie Bat
Area1	12.53 km2 (4.84 sq mi)
Population (2010)2	840
• Density	67/km2 (170/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	11024 / 11100
Elevation	0–190 m (0–623 ft) (avg. 36 m or 118 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.

Bages (Bajas in Occitan) is a French commune in the Aude department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bageois or Bageoises.

Geography

Panorama of Bages

Bages is located in the urban area of Narbonne on the Canal de la Robine and the Étang de Bages-Sigean (Bages-Sigean Lake) some 6 km south-west of Narbonne and 9 km north of Portel-des-Corbières. Access to the commune is by the D6009 road from Narbonne which passes through the centre of the commune and continues south to Salses-le-Château. Access to the village in the east of the commune is by road D105 which branches from the D6009 just north of the commune and goes to the village before continuing south to Peyriac-de-Mer. The A9 autoroute passes through the commune from north to south but has no exit in the commune. The nearest exit is Exit 15px 38  some 4 km north of the commune which links to the D6009. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Les Pesquis, Domaine de Java, and Prat de Cest.

The Étang de Bages-Sigean forms the entire eastern border of the commune with numerous streams flowing from the commune into it such as the Ruisseau Mairal, the Ruisseau de Boutoubouli, and the Ruisseau des Potences. A smaller Lake - the Étang de Saint-Paul - is on the southern border of the commune linked to the much larger Étang de Bages-Sigean with a dam forming the border of the commune.

History

The origins of the site of the present commune date back to prehistoric times. According to historians tools found in Bages attest the presence of man from the Lower Paleolithic (80,000 years ago). Undoubtedly Neanderthal then Cro-Magnon men stayed on the shores of the Narbonne Gulf (sea at the time). The discovery of Neolithic sites proves the existence of significant human communities at that time.

It was under Roman occupation that a real settlement emerged. Many plots of land were distributed to senior army veterans and there were numerous luxurious villae. The origin of the current name is thought to have come from this period: BAÏA or BAÏES in Latin meaning "place of pleasure". Few traces remain of this period and they are often covered by vegetation. The most important are those of "Castellas" and "Monadières" - important Villae from the beginning of that era.

The population of the time left the flat areas to shelter from the wind by moving to the rocky outcrop seen today. This was a slightly dominant defensive position but also the climate and exposure allowed them to live without encroaching on arable land. The Cadran Solaire (Sundial) (11th century ) marks the entrance of the old village. A corner of the Lake can be seen from the narrow and steep streets.

The village of Bages is on the edge of the lake although agriculture, especially the vineyards, forms the core of its economy (the main square of the village dates to the Revolt of the Winemakers in 1907). Bages village is mostly considered as a fishing village.

Heraldry

Arms of Bages

The official status of the blazon remains to be determined. Blazon: Gules, a fesse fusilly of Or and Vert.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name	Party	Position
1870	1877	Louis Daude
1877	1878	Guilhaume Alberny
1878	1888	Louis Daude
1888	1891	Jean Daude
1891	1892	Auguste Gayraud
1892	1944	Gabriel Cros-Mayrevieille
1944	1945	Joseph Martin
1945	1977	Louis Alberny
1977	1983	René Chevrier
1983	1995	Georges Arcis
1995	2008	Claude Mulero
2008	2020	Marie Bat

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 840 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
716	699	698	742	875	900	864	864	876

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
805	881	924	1,018	1,146	1,193	1,163	1,137	1,136

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
1,124	1,022	1,030	917	799	791	711	542	549

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2010	-
559	558	572	547	694	755	-	840	-

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

File:Population - Municipality code 11024.svg

Population of Bages, Aude

Economy

File:FLAMANTS.jpg

Flamingos at Bages

File:Vol flamant.jpg

A Flamingo at Bages

Art is prominent in the commune with Painters, sculptors, visual artists, musicians, storytellers, and cabinet makers drawing inspiration. There are two permanent Art galleries: La Maison des Arts and L'Etang Art which also has publishing activity through Les Temps d'Art Graphique.

The commune is in the zone of the Vin de pays des Coteaux du Littoral Audois (Local wine of Coteaux du Littoral Audois)

In the fishing village the main produce is eel which is prepared in bouillabaisse style.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

• The Monument of the Republic in the Place de Juin 1907 (1888) is registered as an historical object.

Religious heritage

The Church contains several items that are registered as historical objects:

• A Statue: Saint Delphine of Sabran (19th century)
• 2 Statues: Saints Martin of Tours and Paul of Narbonne
• A Painting: Christ on the cross between Saints Paul of Narbonne and Martin of Tours (17th century)
• A Thurible (19th century)

Notable people linked to the commune

• Pierre Dumayet (1923-2011), writer, journalist, scriptwriter, and French producer, was buried in the cemetery at Bages.
• Gianfredo Camesi, Swiss artist who lived in Bages in 1975.
• Jean-Pierre Serre, mathematician who was born in Bages.

See also

• Corbières AOC
• Communes of the Aude department

Bibliography

• Jean Guiffan, History of Bages and its inhabitants, Éditions Élysiques, 2007, 233 pages, paperback, ISBN 2-9528777-0-X, ISBN 978-2952877701 (French)

External links

• Bages on Lion1906
• Bages on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Bages on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)