Department of Tarn

Tarn
Department
The old city of Albi and the Tarn river
Flag
Location of Tarn in France
Coordinates: 43°49′N 2°12′E / 43.817°N 2.200°E / 43.817; 2.200Coordinates: 43°49′N 2°12′E / 43.817°N 2.200°E / 43.817; 2.200
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Departement	Since 4 March 1790
Prefecture	Albi
Subprefecture	Castres
Government
• President of the Departemental Council	Christophe Ramond
Area
• Total	5,757.9 km2 (2,223.1 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	381,927
• Rank	62
• Density	66/km2 (170/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Tarnais
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	FR-81
Department number	81
Arrondissements	2
Cantons	23
Communes	319
Website	http://www.tarn.fr

Tarn (French pronunciation: ​[taʁn] or [ta:ʁ]; Occitan pronunciation: [taɾ]) is a French department located in the Occitanie region in the southwest of France named after the Tarn river. Its prefecture and largest city is Albi.

The inhabitants of Tarn are known, in French, as Tarnais (women: Tarnaises).

Tarn is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, through application of the Law of 22 December 1789. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc, and comprised the dioceses of Albi and Castres (which found themselves merged in 1817).

The new department had five districts: Albi, Castres, Lavaur, Gaillac, Lacaune. The capitals (now prefectures) were, alternatively, Albi and Castres but, from 1790 to 1797, the capital was only Albi; in 1797, the capital was moved to Castres.

In 1800, Albi became again the capital of the department and the arrondissements were created; the department had four arrondissements: Albi, Castres, Gaillac and Lavaur. In 1926, the arrondissements of Gaillac and Lavaur were eliminated.