LOT INFORMATION
LOT Geography
Lot is part of the region of Midi-Pyrénées and is surrounded by the department of Tarn-et-Garonne, Aveyron, in the region of Aquitaine by the departments of Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne, in the region of Limousin by the departments of Corrèze and in the region of Auvergne by the department of Cantal.
Lot (Occitan: Òlt) is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot River.
Lot River: The Lot, originally the Olt (Occitan: Òlt), is a river in France, right tributary of the Garonne. It rises in the Cévennes, flowing west through Quercy, where it flows into the Garonne near Aiguillon, a total distance of 481 kilometres (299 mi). It gives its name to the Lot département.
LOT History
Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. In 1808, some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of Montauban.
LOT Communes
Frayssinet-le-Gélat - a small village close to Prayssac
Prayssac - a town of approximately 3,000 residents
Cahors: Cahors; Occitan: Caors, is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.
Its site is dramatic being contained on three sides within an udder shaped twist in the river Lot known as a 'presqu'île' or peninsula. Today it is perhaps best known as the centre of the famous AOC 'black' wine known since the Middle Ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viticulture.
Cahors has had a rich history since Celtic times, though it has declined economically since the Middle Ages and lost its university in the eighteenth century. Today it is a popular tourist centre with people coming to enjoy its mediaeval quarter and the unique 14th century fortified Valentré bridge. It is the seat of the Diocese of Cahors.
Cahors was prominent in the Middle Ages and saw considerable conflict during the Hundred Years War and the later Wars of Religion. It was also infamous at that time for having bankers that 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 in Dante's Inferno (XI.50) alongside Sodom as wicked.
Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze or d'Euse, was born in Cahors in 1249, the son of a shoemaker, and it was the home of Dutch poet Ankie Peypers (1928-2008), winner of the 1962 Anne Frank-award. In the 2007 Tour de France, Cahors was the start of stage 18.
Main Sight: The Valentré 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 all Devil's Bridge legends, with a carefully developed plot, complex characters, and a surprising dénouement. When the bridge was restored in 1879, the architect Paul Gout made reference to this by placing a small sculpture of the devil at the summit of one of the towers.
LOT Administration
Department number : 46
Region Midi-Pyrénées
Prefecture : Cahors
Subprefectures : Figeac, Gourdon
Arrondissements : 3
Cantons 31
Communes : 340
LOT HOLIDAY RENTALS in MIDI-PYRENEES Region
MORE THAN 10.000 B&B in all France
MORE THAN 10.000 Gîtes in all France
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