The French commune of Foix in the department of Ariège has a history that dates back more than fifteen thousand years. The site on which the town is built was first appreciated by the Romans who built a fort on the rocky peak that dominates it. An urban town was then developed around the ‘Saint Volusien’ abbey in the 12th century and the town experienced its economic peak in the 14th century. Its prestige comes from the status of county capital which is attributed to it and which it still retains today. This glorious heritage is completed by the appointment of the city as the capital of the new department of Ariège in 1790.