Aude

Aude ( OHD; French: [od] ; Occitan: [ˈawðe]) is a department in southern France, located in Occitania and named after the river Aude. 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 2023, it had a population of 379,648.