Castres

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Castres

Houses by the Agout River Castres Location within Midi-Pyrénées region  Castres Administration Country France Region Midi-Pyrénées Department Tarn Arrondissement Castres Intercommunality Castres-Mazamet Mayor Pascal Bugis (2008–2014) Statistics Elevation 151–367 m (495–1,204 ft) (avg. 170 m or 560 ft) Land area1 98.17 km2 (37.90 sq mi) Population2 43,010  (2008)  - Density 438 /km2 (1,130 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 81065/ 81100 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.

Coordinates: 43°36′00″N 2°15′00″E / 43.6000°N 2.2500°E / 43.6000; 2.2500

Castres (French pronunciation: ​; Castras in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) is a commune, and arrondissement capital in the Tarn department and Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It lies in the former French province of Languedoc.

Castres is (after Toulouse, Tarbes and Albi) the fourth largest industrial centre of the predominantly rural Midi-Pyrénées région and the largest in that part of Languedoc lying between Toulouse and Montpellier.

Castres is noted for being the birthplace of the famous socialist leader Jean Jaurès and home to the important Goya Museum of Spanish painting.