Tarn (department)
Tarn is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. Named after the river Tarn, it had a population of as of 2019. Its prefecture and largest city is Albi; it has a single subprefecture, Castres. In French, the inhabitants of Tarn are known as Tarnais and Tarnaises. Its INSEE and postcode number is 81.
History
Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, through application of the Law of 22 December 1789. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc, and comprised the dioceses of Albi and Castres.File:Old houses by the Agout River in Castres.jpg|thumb|left|Castres is best known in French political history as the birthplace of Socialist leader Jean Jaurès.
The new department had five districts: Albi, Castres, Lavaur, Gaillac, Lacaune. The capitals were, alternatively, Albi and Castres but, from 1790 to 1797, the capital was only Albi; in 1797, the capital was moved to Castres. In 1800, Albi became again the capital of the department and the arrondissements were created; the department had four arrondissements: Albi, Castres, Gaillac and Lavaur. In 1926, the arrondissements of Gaillac and Lavaur were eliminated.
By the law of 28 Pluviôse Year 5, the departments of Hérault and of Tarn exchanged the canton of Anglès for that of Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare.
Geography
Tarn is part of the Occitanie region and has an area of. The department is surrounded by five departments, all belonging to the region Occitanie: Hérault to the southeast, Aude to the south, Aveyron to the north and east, Haute-Garonne to the southwest and west, as well as Tarn-et-Garonne to the northwest. It is one of two French departments surrounded entirely by other departments of the same region.The slope of the department is from east to west, and its general character is mountainous or hilly. Tarn's three principal ranges lying to the south-east are: the Mountains of Lacaune, the Sidobre and the Montagne Noire, belonging to the Cévennes.
The stony and wind-blown slopes of the Mountains of Lacaune are used for pasture. The highest point of the range and of the department is the Puech Montgrand, high; several other summits are not much short of this. The granite-strewn plateaux of the Sidobre, from high, separate the valley of the river Agout from that of its western tributary, the Thoré River. The Montagne Noire, on the southwestern border of the department, derives its name from the forests on its northern slope. Its highest point is the Pic de Nore at high.
The limestone and sandstone foot-hills are clothed with vines and fruit trees, and are broken by deep alluvial valleys of particular fertility. With the exception of a small portion of the Montagne Noire, which drains into the river Aude, the whole department belongs to the basin of the Garonne.
Demographics
Tarn has a population, in 2019, of 389,844, for a population density of inhabitants/km2.Population evolution
Population development since 1801:Principal towns
The most populous commune is Albi, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 6,000 inhabitants:| Commune | Population |
| Albi | 48,902 |
| Castres | 42,079 |
| Gaillac | 15,265 |
| Graulhet | 12,844 |
| Lavaur | 10,879 |
| Mazamet | 9,996 |
| Carmaux | 9,782 |
| Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe | 9,336 |
| Saint-Juéry | 6,694 |
| Labruguière | 6,506 |
Administration
Administrative divisions
There are 2 arrondissements, 23 cantons and 314 communes in Tarn.| Arrondissement | INSEE code | Capital | Population | Area | Density | Communes |
| Albi | 811 | Albi | 193,307 | 2,732 | 163 | |
| Castres | 812 | Castres | 196,537 | 3,026 | 151 |