Fabrezan

Fabrezan
Coat of arms
Fabrezan
Location within Languedoc-Roussillon region Fabrezan
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Aude
Arrondissement	Narbonne
Canton	Lézignan-Corbières
Intercommunality	Région Lézignanaise
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Fabrice Vareilles
Area1	28.62 km2 (11.05 sq mi)
Population (2011)2	1,261
• Density	44/km2 (110/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	11132 / 11200
Elevation	54–274 m (177–899 ft) (avg. 68 m or 223 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.

Fabrezan is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.

Geography

The village lies on the left bank of the Orbieu, at the confluent with the Nielle. Fabrezan is at the foot of the Montagne d'Alaric and is 7 km from Lézignan-Corbières and 10 km from Lagrasse.

Etymology

The village's name is derived from a Gallo-Roman villa: villa Fabriciana (from the name of the owner Fabricius, who was perhaps a veteran from Caesar's Legio X Equestris), in 947 there is a reference to In villa Fabriciano, in 1222 to Castrum de Fabrezano and in 1595 to Fabresan. In Occitan the village is known as Fabresàn

History

In the Middle Ages the village was a fief held by the Viscounts of Narbonne. In 1382 during the révolte des Tuchins, Beatrix, the wife of Aimery VI, Viscount of Narbonne, and her children were besieged at Fabrezan by the citizens of Narbonne. Most of the 12th century keep from the original castle in which she was besieged still exists, but an upper floor was dismantled in 1628 and the Tour de Fabrezan is now only 30 meters high. It was classified as a monument historique in 1951. The Romanesque church of Saint-Étienne in the hamlet of Villerouge-la-Crémade which is part of the commune was also classified as a monument historique in 1982.

The French poet and inventor Charles Cros was born in Fabrezan in 1842. There is a small museum devoted to him, Le Musée Charles Cros, located at the Mairie or town hall. An annual music festival is held in the village in honor of Charles Cros.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1800	956	—
1821	1,083	+13.3%
1831	1,170	+8.0%
1841	1,239	+5.9%
1851	1,287	+3.9%
1861	1,310	+1.8%
1872	1,529	+16.7%
1881	2,298	+50.3%
1891	2,031	−11.6%
1901	1,912	−5.9%
1911	1,761	−7.9%
1921	1,791	+1.7%
1931	1,629	−9.0%
1946	1,303	−20.0%
1954	1,267	−2.8%
1962	1,088	−14.1%
1968	1,137	+4.5%
1975	1,024	−9.9%
1982	991	−3.2%
1990	1,046	+5.5%
1999	1,086	+3.8%
2008	1,242	+14.4%
2011	1,261	+1.5%

town hall

High water in October 2010

See also

• Corbières AOC
• Communes of the Aude department

References

• INSEE