Verfeil, Haute-Garonne

Verfeil
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Coat of arms of Verfeil Coat of arms
Verfeil
Location within Midi-Pyrénées region Verfeil
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Haute-Garonne
Arrondissement	Toulouse
Canton	Verfeil
Intercommunality	Coteaux du Girou
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Hervé Dutko
Area1	41.23 km2 (15.92 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	2,993
• Density	73/km2 (190/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	31573 / 31590
Elevation	146–273 m (479–896 ft) (avg. 225 m or 738 ft)
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.

Verfeil is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.

History

It was an important centre of Catharism from about 1140 to the mid 13th century. Bernard of Clairvaux preached against heresy at Verfeil in 1145. Sent away without a proper hearing by the seigneurs, he is said to have cursed the town with the words Viridefolium, desiccet te Deus! ("Verfeil, may God dry you up!") Izarn Neblat, one of those seigneurs, was said by Guillaume de Puylaurens to have lived in his old age in poverty at Toulouse as a result of this curse; the town's recovery was dated by the faithful to the period of the Albigensian Crusade, when Simon IV de Montfort gave it to bishop Foulques de Toulouse.

An important Catholic-Cathar debate was held at Verfeil in 1206. The Catholic side was led by Diego de Acebo, bishop of Osma, supported by the future Saint Dominic; among the Cathars were Pons Jourda and Arnaud Arrufat.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1793	2,040	—
1800	2,258	+10.7%
1806	2,490	+10.3%
1821	2,399	−3.7%
1831	2,538	+5.8%
1836	2,460	−3.1%
1841	2,420	−1.6%
1846	2,339	−3.3%
1851	2,347	+0.3%
1856	2,367	+0.9%
1861	2,372	+0.2%
1866	2,350	−0.9%
1872	2,342	−0.3%
1876	2,171	−7.3%
1881	2,070	−4.7%
1886	2,043	−1.3%
1891	1,908	−6.6%
1896	1,894	−0.7%
1901	1,827	−3.5%
1906	1,684	−7.8%
1911	1,663	−1.2%
1921	1,418	−14.7%
1926	1,476	+4.1%
1931	1,395	−5.5%
1936	1,402	+0.5%
1946	1,477	+5.3%
1954	1,529	+3.5%
1962	1,536	+0.5%
1968	1,540	+0.3%
1975	1,734	+12.6%
1982	2,000	+15.3%
1990	2,265	+13.3%
1999	2,504	+10.6%
2008	2,993	+19.5%

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Garonne department

References

• INSEE