Mirande

Mirande, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Gers, on the left bank of the Grande Baise, 17 m. S.S.W. of Auch by the Southern railway. Pop. (1906), 2368. Mirande is laid out on the uniform plan typical of the bastide. Its church, built at the beginning of the 1 5th century, is chiefly remarkable for its porch which bestrides the Rue de 1'Eveche and is surmounted by two flying buttresses supporting a belfry of Flemish appearance. The remains of ramparts are still to be seen and the principal street is bordered by ancient arcades. The town has a sub-prefecture and a tribunal of first instance. The trade is in live-stock and agricultural products. Tanning and wood-turning are carried on.

Mirande was founded in 1286 by the monks of Berdones and the seneschal of Toulouse acting on behalf of Philip IV. During the 14th century it was the capital of the counts of Astarac.