For the wine region, seeCahors wine. For the wine grape also known as Cahors, seeJurançon (grape). For another French wine grape known as Cahors, seeNégrette.
Cahors has had a rich history sinceCeltic times. The original name of the town was Divona orDivona Cadurcorum, "Divona of theCadurci," Divona was a fountain, now called "la fontaine des Chartreux", worshiped by the Cadurci, a Celtic people of Gaul before the Roman conquest in the 50s BC. The Cadurci were among the last Celtic tribes to resist the Roman invasion.Cahors derives fromCadurcorum.[4] However, romanization was rapid and profound: Cahors became a large Roman city, with many monuments whose remnants can be seen today. It has declined economically since the Middle Ages, and lost its university in the 18th century. Today it is a popular tourist centre with people coming to enjoy its medieval quarter and the 14th-century fortified Valentré bridge. It is the seat of theDiocese of Cahors.
It was also notorious at that time for the financiers widely known asCahorsins, Christians who charged interest on their loans. The church in these times said that using money as an end in itself (usury) was a sin. Because of this Cahors became synonymous with this sin, and was mentioned inDante'sInferno (XI.50) alongsideSodom as wicked.
Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze or d'Euse, was born in Cahors in 1244, the son of a shoemaker.
The town is situated 115 km (71 mi) north ofToulouse, on theRN20 /A20, connecting the city, viaLimoges toParis andOrléans. The town'sheight above sea level is between 105 metres (344 feet) and 332 metres (1,089 feet). The area of the town is 64.72 square kilometres (24.99 square miles), with population density relatively high for France at 309 inhabitants per square kilometre (800/sq mi).[5]
The bridgeOn the bridgeCahors - Roman amphitheatre
TheValentré Bridge, the symbol of the town. Building began in 1308 and was completed in 1378. The legend associated with this bridge is one of the most fully realized of allDevil's Bridge legends, with a carefully developed plot, complex characters, and a surprising dénouement. When the bridge was restored in 1879, the architectPaul Gout made reference to this by placing a small sculpture of the devil at the summit of one of the towers.
Roman Amphitheatre – remains of an oval amphitheatre were revealed when the underground car park was excavated at the Place Gambetta, just west of, and partially beneath, Boulevard Gambetta in the city centre. The stone walls can be seen in the car park first level, below the statue ofLeon Gambetta, and opened to the public in April 2009.
The area around Cahors produces wine, primarily robust andtannic red wine. Wine from theCahorsappellation must be made from at least 70%Malbec (also called Cot, Auxerrois and Pressac) grape, with a maximum of 30%Merlot orTannat grape varieties.
Pope John XXII granted a charter on 7 June 1331.[7]
The university had three colleges at Cahors: Pélegry (1358), Rodez (1371), and San Michel (1473).[8] Fénelon studied at this institution, which, in 1751, was dissolved as a separate institution and annexed to theUniversity of Toulouse.[9] The institution had faculties covering theology, law, medicine, arts and literature.
The university dissolved in 1751 and faculties annexed into the University of Toulouse.
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