Mirande () is a commune in the Gers department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the Occitanie region, southwestern France. It is the administrative center of the arrondissement of Mirande and of the canton of Mirande-Astarac.
History
Mirande was founded in 1281 near the village of Saint-Jean de Lezian by the abbot Berdoues and by Bernhard IV, Count of Astarac. The town was built as a bastide (a fortified town). Miranda became, in 1297, the capital of the County of Astarac.
Mirande was surrounded by a wall with four city gates; the wall was destroyed during the 19th century.
Since 17 February 1800, Mirande is the capital of the arrondissement of Mirande.
Geography
Mirande is a commune found along the Baïse river in the Astarac, a natural region that is part of Gascony.
The commune has an area of and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .
Mirande is at from Auch, from Toulouse, from Tarbes and from Lourdes.
Mirande is surrounded by the following communes, all of them part of the arrondissement of Mirande: Estipouy and Mouchès to the north, Miramont-d'Astarac to the northeast, Idrac-Respaillès to the east, Saint-Médard to the southeast, Berdoues to the south, Saint-Martin and Monclar-sur-Losse to the west and Montesquiou to the northwest.
Climate
The climate of Mirande, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - Oceanic climate with template summers.
Population
The inhabitants of Mirande are known, in French, as Mirandais (women: Mirandaises).
With a population of 3,527 (2014), Mirande has a population density of inhabitants/km2.
Evolution of the population in Mirande
Gallery
Sister cities
Mirande is twinned with: Korntal-Münchingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany L'Eliana, Valencia, Spain San Mauro Torinese, Piedmont, Italy Tubize, Walloon Brabant, Belgium