Saverdun (Municipality, Ariège, France)

Flag of Saverdun - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 16 October 2025

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Presentation of Saverdun

Saverdun (4,808 inhabitants, 6,147 ha) is a commune in the Ariège department.

A substantial castle with a tower rising to 19 meters and several churches were built from the beginning of the 11th century. Saverdun was closely involved in the events of the Albigensian Crusade, which bloodied the South of France between the 11th and 13th centuries and which had already resulted in the loss of many medieval buildings. Its development nevertheless continued thereafter, with the Saint-Jacques Hospital being built there in 1289 and the Augustinian Convent in 1316.

Saverdun's development, which had largely taken place before the Reformation, continued until the end of the 16th century, when it was once again severely affected by the Wars of Religion. It is estimated that the population at that time was between 3,000 and 4,000 inhabitants living in approximately 800 households, which would have constituted a relatively large town at that time in the region. Louis XIII had all its ramparts razed between 1630 and 1633, and some thirty years later, the destruction of the Protestant religious buildings was decided and carried out. With a few exceptions, all that remains of Saverdun's major medieval and post-medieval buildings are a few vestiges of the castle, which must have been imposing.

The only notable historic buildings visible are a wing of the Saint-Jacques Hospital, as it was rebuilt immediately after the fire that completely destroyed the building in 1751, and the Notre-Dame Church, built in 1648 after the destruction of all the town's churches by the "Réformés"
The Protestant church is much more recent, having only begun construction in 1792 and completed in 1823. It subsequently underwent various alterations, the last of which was carried out in 1970.
Another building from this period also survives today. The mill, which has undergone numerous alterations since its first construction, is believed to have existed before 1566 and was rebuilt in 1640 after a flood that completely swept it away. It still operates, but as a hydroelectric power plant, inaccessible to the public

Saverdun's only industrial activity was a scythe factory; it went bankrupt in 1861 with around forty workers. Saverdun was a key center of the Resistance in Ariège.
On December 7, 1966, a Noratlas military transport plane crashed in the town following a severe icing incident. None of the four crew members survived. A stele was placed in their honor on the D 229 after the sandpit, in the direction of Mazères.

Olivier Touzeau, 16 October 2025

Flag of Saverdun

The flag is white with the logo, based on the coat of arms: photo (2022), photo (2025).
The arms of Saverdun are blazoned Gules a Castle towered Or, port and windows of the field.

Olivier Touzeau, 16 October 2025