Castres () is a commune in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, in southwestern France. It is the sous-prefecture (capital) of the arrondissement of the same name in the Tarn department.
Castres is (after Toulouse, Tarbes and Albi) the fourth largest industrial centre of the mainly rural Midi-Pyrénées région and the largest in that part of Languedoc between Toulouse and Montpellier.
History
The name of the town comes from Latin castrum, and means "fortified place".
Castres grew up round the Benedictine abbey of Saint Benoît. Castres became an important stop on the international pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain because its abbey-church, built in the 9th century, was keeping the relics of Saint Vincent, the renowned martyr of Spain. It was a place of some importance as early as the 12th century, and ranked as the second town of the Albigeois behind Albi.
Geography
Castres is in southern France, in the southwestern part of the Tarn department, to the north of the Montagne Noire, a mountain range in central southern France. Castres is crossed from north to south by the Agout river, a tributary of the Tarn.
The commune has an area of and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
Castres is at southeast of Albi and at east of Toulouse.
Climate
The climate of Castres, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.
Population
The inhabitants of Castres are known, in French, as Castrais (women: Castraises).
The city of Castres has a population, in 2014, of 41,382; its population density is of inhabitants/km2.
Evolution of the population in Castres
Administration
Castres is a subprefecture of the Tarn department and the capital of the arrondissement of Castres in the same department. It is also the capital of three Cantons: Castres-1, formed with a part of Castres (16,890 inhabitants) (2014) Castres-2, formed with a part of Castres and 6 other communes (15,422 inhabitants) (2014) Castres-3, formed with a part of Castres and the commune Navès (15,319 inhabitants) (2014)
It is part of the intercommunality Castres - Mazamet ().
Education
Institut national universitaire Jean-François Champollion
Sister cities
Castres is twinned with: Linares, Spain Wakefield, England Butare, Rwanda