Several objects dating back to prehistoric times have been found around Pamiers and suggest that people were already living here at that time.In the 5th century, the territory on which the city is built today was called, in Visigothic, "Frédélas" (in those days, the Visigoths received land in exchange for the mercenaries they provided to the Roman army).In the 10th century, near the town (which is now the city of Pamiers), the abbey of Saint-Antonin was built. This building is mentioned for the first time in a document dating from 961.At the beginning of the 12th century, an agreement was concluded between the clergy and the Count of Foix. In this agreement, the name "Apamée" ("Castrum Appamie" in Latin) refers to the castle built by the Count, on the hillock (called " the hillock of Castella ") which dominated the plain of Frédélas. The city surrounded by fortified walls, was located at the foot of the castle. The name "Apamée", which will become "Pamias" in langue d'oc, then "Pamiers", will be given to the city during the 12th century.From the 13th century Pamiers developed the cloth and wine trade. Renowned as far as the French court, also sold to the English, the wine was shipped on the Ariège river, at the port of Jeu du Mail in Pamiers, to the port of Bordeaux.At the end of the 13th century Pamiers, a stronghold of orthodoxy, was rewarded for its loyalty by Pope Boniface VIII who created the bishopric of Pamiers. Another consequence of the Crusade against the Albigensians (Cathars): the installation in the city of many monastics in charge of fighting against the Cathar heresy: Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, Augustinians.The destruction of the castle (which would have been a place frequented by the Cathars) will be ordered in the 17th century, by the Cardinal of Richelieu.During the 15th and 16th centuries, Pamiers was the scene of repeated riots, due to numerous conflicts and wars (Hundred Years War, Wars of Religion, War of the Navarre Succession...) which left no church standing, except for the bell towers, which were precious defensive elements. The reconstruction of all the buildings began in the second half of the 17th century.At the beginning of the industrial revolution, in 1817, the metallurgical factory was created in Pamiers. Today it is a state-of-the-art factory with one of the most powerful hydraulic presses in Europe. It produces, for example, major parts for the A380.The city of Pamiers has a population of 16,500 inhabitants called Appaméennes and Appaméens. The motto of the city: "Que m'a feit me gardo" "What made me keep me".