Its inhabitants are called Chauriens. Sights L'Apothicairerie de l'Hôpital La Collégiale Saint-Michel Les Ecluses Saint-Roch Le Grand Bassin La Halle aux Grains L'Ile de la Cybèle. Le Moulin de Cugarel La Légion étrangère Le Présidial La Chapelle Notre-Dame de Pitié Personalities Castelnaudary was the birthplace of: Pierre de Castelnau d. 1208 Pierre-Jean Fabre (1588-1658), physician to King Louis XIII Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil (1643–1725) Joseph Martin-Dauch (1741–1801), the only deputy from the Estates General of the Third Estate known to have signed as 'opposant' from taking the Tennis Court Oath, a major event of the French Revolution of 1789 Jean François Aimé Dejean (1749-1824), army officer and minister of state in the service of the First French Republic and the First French Empire Antoine-François Andréossy (1761–1828) Antoine Marfan (1858–1942), pediatrician Georges Canguilhem (1904–1995), philosopher and member of the Académie française who specialized in the philosophy of science Education École nationale de l'aviation civile Military base The 4th Foreign Regiment of the French Army has been stationed in Castelnaudary since 1976, and the base is open to the public on 30 April (Camerone Day) and at Christmas. Cassoulet Castelnaudary styles itself Capitale Mondiale du Cassoulet ("World Capital of Cassoulet") and the apocryphal legend of the genesis of this dish (originally called estofat) relates that it was first served to the defenders of the town during the siege of 1355. The town is home to the La Grande Confrérie du Cassoulet de Castelnaudary ("The Brotherhood of Castelnaudary's cassoulet"), an organization which seeks to promote and preserve the dish and its associated traditions. An annual festival celebrating cassoulet "fête du Cassoulet" is held in the last full week of August; the town center is thusly crowded with various versions of the traditional dish on that date. The cassoulet variant favored in this town is based on the local haricot bean (which is the subject of a protected status application). It also includes goose or duck confit, pork, and Toulouse sausage. Traditional peasant versions of the recipe can take two days or more to prepare. The traditional cooking vessel is an eponymous earthenware pot called a "cassole." Rick Stein featured the Castelnaudary cassoulet in an episode of Rick Stein's French Odyssey and his recipe can be found on the BBC Food website. References External links Castelnaudary (in French) Castelnaudary Tourisme (in French) Communes of Aude Languedoc Aude communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia