Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs

Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs
A general view of Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs A general view of Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs
Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs
Location within Midi-Pyrénées region Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Ariège
Arrondissement	Foix
Canton	Tarascon-sur-Ariège
Intercommunality	Pays de Tarascon
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Daniel Culminetti
Area1	26.96 km2 (10.41 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	307
• Density	11/km2 (29/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	09241 / 09400
Elevation	548–2,196 m (1,798–7,205 ft) (avg. 625 m or 2,051 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.

Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs is a commune in the Ariège department in the Midi Pyrénées region in southwestern France.

Population

The inhabitants of Rabat are called Rabatols in Occitan (the historical local language) or Rabatois.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1876	1,338	—
1881	1,115	−16.7%
1886	976	−12.5%
1891	1,033	+5.8%
1896	1,128	+9.2%
1901	838	−25.7%
1906	1,009	+20.4%
1911	866	−14.2%
1921	649	−25.1%
1926	540	−16.8%
1931	443	−18.0%
1936	435	−1.8%
1946	410	−5.7%
1954	371	−9.5%
1962	308	−17.0%
1968	260	−15.6%
1975	287	+10.4%
1982	311	+8.4%
1990	298	−4.2%
1999	264	−11.4%
2008	307	+16.3%

Name

The real name of the village is Rabat, but since 1931 the French post office administration has decided that the name has to be labelled as Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs to avoid a confusion with the city of Rabat in Morocco. Note that the village was called Rabat since Charlemagne in the 8th century, four centuries before Rabat in Morocco that was founded only in 1150. The expression "les trois seigneurs" means in French "of the three lords". It is a reference to a mountain called "Le pic des trois seigneurs" that close the Courbière valley in which Rabat is settled. The name come from the fact that three valleys (Courbière, Vicdessos, Couserans) are closed by this peak. As each of the valleys has a different lord, the peak is a place common to three lords and so is called "Peak of the three lords". A legend said that every year in summer, the three lords met on the flat stone at the top of the peak and discussed together.

Geography

The village of Rabat is settled in the valley of the Courbière, a mountain river. Most of the 15 km of the river are on the village territory.

History

Man has settled in the valley of the Courbière since more than 17,000 years. Many archeologic pieces from magdalenian (cavern of Bédheilac) have been found in the valley.

Sights

Rabat church's older portion was built in the 10th century and has a famous wooden altarpiece.

Personalities

• Corbeyran de Rabat (1321-1402), Hofmeister of Gaston Fébus
• Catherine de Rabat, mistress of Gaston Fébus who had four children with him.

Gallery

File:Rabat-eglise.jpg Church of Rabat as seen from the road to Bédeilhac

File:Rabat-eglise-retable-HD.jpg Church of Rabat altarpiece

See also

• Communes of the Ariège department

References

• INSEE