L’Hourride

This stream (known as the Bernès in its upper reaches) rises in the canton of Aurignac, borders the Gallo-Roman sites of Coulieu and Sana, and flows into the Garonne near Montjoie. As it flows through Cazères, the Hourride has for centuries been home to washhouses, dye works, cloth factories, mills and tanneries. The tanners on its banks maintained ponds called “Caouquèros” in Occitan to soak the hides. The river bordered the suburbs of Tarascon and las Caouquèros. Since the end of the 19th century, the river has flowed through Cazères under a beautiful brick archway that has allowed two large squares to be created.