Aude

Aude
Department
From top down, left to right: Carcassonne, prefecture traversed by the Aude River, Mediterranean coast near Narbonne, Caudeval and Peyriac-de-Mer
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Aude in France
Coordinates: 43°5′N 2°25′E / 43.083°N 2.417°E / 43.083; 2.417
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Prefecture	Carcassonne
Subprefectures	Limoux Narbonne
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Hélène Sandragné[1] (PS)
Area 1
• Total	6,139 km2 (2,370 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	376,028
• Rank	64th
• Density	61/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-11
Department number	11
Largest city	Narbonne
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	19
Communes	433
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Aude (French: [od] ^ⓘ ohd; Occitan: [ˈawðe]) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude.^[3] The departmental council also calls it "Cathar Country" (French: Pays cathare) after a group of religious dissidents active in the 12th to 14th centuries.

Its prefecture is Carcassonne and its subprefectures are Limoux and Narbonne. As of 2019, it had a population of 374,070.^[4] Aude is a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother of Eudo, brother of Saint Hubertus.^{[citation needed]} Aude was the name of Roland's fiancée in the chansons de geste.