Montjoie-en-Couserans

Montjoie-en-Couserans (, literally Montjoie in Couserans; Montjòi de Coserans) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France, in the northwest of the Ariège department, in the Occitanie region. Historically and culturally, the town is part of Couserans, an area with Gascon roots structured by the course of the Salat.

Exposed to an altered oceanic climate, it is drained by the Volp, the Baup, the Badech stream, the Birosse stream and various other small rivers. Included in the Ariège Pyrenees regional natural park, the town has a remarkable natural heritage: a protected area (the “crayfish streams: Artix, Moulicot and Volp”) and six natural areas of ecological, faunal and floral beauty.

Montjoie-en-Couserans is a rural commune which had 1,010 inhabitants in 2020, after having experienced a sharp increase in population since 1975. It is part of the Saint-Girons catchment area. Its inhabitants are called Montjoliens or Montjoliennes.

The architectural heritage of the town includes two buildings protected as historic monuments: the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church, listed in 1901, and the City Gate, listed in 1965.

History
The Bastide of Montjoie was founded in 1268 by Alphonse de Poitiers, a prince of royal blood, the brother of Louis IX under a landscaping contract with the Bishop of Couserans.