Montesquieu-Avantès

The Sorcerer is one name for an enigmatic cave painting found in the cavern known as 'The Sanctuary' at the Cave of the Trois-Frères, Ariège, France, made around 13,000 BCE. The figure's significance is unknown, but it is usually interpreted as some kind of great spirit or master of animals. The unusual nature of The Sanctuary's decoration may also reflect the practice of magical ceremonies in the chamber. In his sketches of the cave art, Henri Breuil drew a horned humanoid torso and the publication of this drawing in the 1920s influenced many subsequent theories about the figure. However, Breuil's sketch has also come under criticism in recent years. A single prominent human figure is unusual in the cave paintings of the Upper Paleolithic, where the great majority of representations are of animals.

The Cave of the Trois-Frères is a cave in southwestern France famous for its cave paintings. It is located in Montesquieu-Avantès, in the Ariège département. The cave is named for three brothers (French: trois frères, pronounced [tʁwɑ fʁɛʁ]), Max, Jacques, and Louis Begouën, who, along with their father Comte Henri Begouën, discovered it in 1914. The drawings of the cave were made famous in the publications of the Abbé Henri Breuil. The cave art appears to date to approximately 13,000 BC.

Contrazy (French pronunciation: [kɔ̃tʁazi]; Occitan: Contrasi) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.

Lescure (in Occitan Era Escura) is a commune, located in the department of Ariège in the region of Occitanie, in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Escurois.

Montjoie-en-Couserans (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ʒwa ɑ̃ kuzʁɑ̃], literally Montjoie in Couserans; Occitan: 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.

Couserans (French pronunciation: [kuz(ə)ʁɑ̃]; Gascon: Coserans [kuzeˈɾas]) is a former county of France located in the Pyrenees mountains. Today Couserans makes up the western half of the Ariège département, around the towns of Saint-Girons and Saint-Lizier. A small part of Couserans is also in the extreme south of Haute-Garonne, just across the border from Ariège. Couserans has a land area of 1,162 km² (449 sq. miles). At the 1999 census there were 21,260 inhabitants on the territory of the former province of Couserans, which means a density of only 18 inhabitants per km² (47 inhabitants per sq. mile), one of the lowest densities in western Europe. The only urban area is Saint-Girons (which includes Saint-Lizier), with 9,484 inhabitants in 1999 (44.6% of the whole population of Couserans).

The former French Catholic diocese of Couserans existed perhaps from the fifth century to the French Revolution in the late eighteenth century. It covered the former province of Couserans, in south-west France. Its episcopal seat was in Saint-Lizier, a small town to the west of Foix. It was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Auch.

The canton of Portes du Couserans is an administrative division of the Ariège department, southern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Saint-Lizier.It consists of the following communes:

Saint-Lizier (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ lizje]; Occitan: Sent Líser) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France, situated on the river Salat.

Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède de Saint-Lizier) is one of two former co-cathedrals of the town of Saint-Lizier in southern France. The other is the Saint-Lizier Cathedral. The town of Saint-Lizier was formerly the seat of the Bishop of Couserans. The diocese was abolished under civil constitution of the clergy in 1790, and this was confirmed by the Concordat of 1801.

Saint-Girons (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ ʒiʁɔ̃] ; Occitan: Sent Gironç) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.

Saint-Lizier Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Lizier de Saint-Lizier) is one of two former co-cathedrals of the town of Saint-Lizier in southern France. The other is the Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède Cathedral. The Saint-Lizier Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Lycerius (French: Saint Lizier), an early bishop of Couserans, after whom the town itself is also named. It has been listed since 1886 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.The town of Saint-Lizier, although now severely depopulated, was formerly the seat of the Bishop of Couserans. The diocese was abolished under civil constitution of the clergy in 1790, and this was confirmed by the Concordat of 1801.