Albi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

Albi

View of Albi featuring the bridge of 22nd of August 1944 on the left, Sainte-Cécile cathedral and the Pont Vieux (old bridge) on the right. Albi Location within Midi-Pyrénées region  Albi Administration Country France Region Midi-Pyrénées Department Tarn Arrondissement Albi Intercommunality Albigeois Mayor Philippe Bonnecarrère (since 2001) (2008–2014) Statistics Elevation 130–308 m (430–1,010 ft) (avg. 169 m or 554 ft) Land area1 44.26 km2 (17.09 sq mi) Population2 51,302  (2007)  - Density 1,159 /km2 (3,000 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 81004/ 81000 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 43°55′44″N 2°08′47″E / 43.9289°N 2.1464°E / 43.9289; 2.1464

Albi (French pronunciation: ​; Occitan: Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department. It is located on the River Tarn, c. 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called Albigensians (French: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), Occitan: albigés -esa(s)). It was the seat of the Archbishop of Albi and is the seat of the Diocese of Albi. The episcopal city, situated in the center of the actual city, around the cathedral, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2010.

Administration

Albi is the seat of 6 cantons, covering 18 communes, with a total population of 67,729.

History

View of Palais de la Berbie St-Madeleine Church, Albi Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile Collégiale Saint-Salvi, the oldest church in Albi, dedicated to Saint Salvius

The first human settlement in Albi was in the Bronze Age (3000-600 BC). After the Roman conquest of Gaul in 51 BC, the town became Civitas Albigensium, the territory of the Albigeois, Albiga. Archaeological digs have not revealed any traces of Roman buildings, which seems to indicate that Albi was a modest Roman settlement.

In 1040, Albi expanded and constructed the Pont Vieux (Old Bridge). New quarters were built, indicative of considerable urban growth. The city grew rich at this time, thanks to trade and commercial exchanges, and also to the tolls charged to travelers for using the Pont Vieux.

In 1208, the Pope and the French king joined forces to combat the Cathars, who had developed their own version of Christianity (a heresy considered dangerous by the dominant Catholic Church). Repression was severe, and many Cathars were burnt at the stake throughout the region. The area, until then virtually independent, was reduced to such a condition that it was subsequently annexed by the French Crown.

After the upheaval of the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars, the bishop Bernard de Castanet, in the late 13th century, completed work on the Palais de la Berbie, a Bishops' Palace with the look of a fortress. He ordered the building of the cathedral of Sainte-Cécile starting in 1282. The town enjoyed a period of commercial prosperity largely due to the cultivation of Isatis Tinctoria, commonly known as woad. The fine houses built during the Renaissance bear witness to the vast fortunes amassed by the pastel merchants.

Albi has conserved its rich architectural heritage which encapsulates the various brilliant periods of its history. Considerable improvement and restoration work has been done, to embellish the old quarters and to give them a new look, in which brick reigns supreme.

Main sights

Albi was built around the original cathedral and episcopal group of buildings. This historic area covers 63 hectares. Red brick and tiles are the main feature of most of the edifices. Along with Toulouse and Montauban, Albi is one of the main cities built in Languedoc-style red brick.

La Goulue arriving at the Moulin Rouge, by Toulouse-Lautrec (1892).

Among the buildings of the town is the Sainte Cécile cathedral, a masterpiece of the Southern Gothic style, built between the 13th and 15th centuries. It is characterised by a strong contrast between its austere, defensive exterior and its sumptuous interior decoration. Built as a statement of the Christian faith after the upheavals of the Cathar heresy, this gigantic brick structure was embellished over the centuries: the Dominique de Florence Doorway, the 78 m high bell tower, the Baldaquin over the entrance (1515–1540). The rood screen is a filigree work in stone in the Flamboyant Gothic style. It is decorated with a magnificent group of polychrome statuary carved by artists from the Burgundian workshops of Cluny and comprising over 200 statues, which have retained their original colours.

Older than the Palais des Papes in Avignon, the Palais de la Berbie, formerly the Bishops' Palace of Albi, now the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, is one of the oldest and best-preserved castles in France. This imposing fortress was completed at the end of the 13th century. Its name comes from the Occitan word Bisbia, meaning Bishops' Palace.

The Old Bridge (Pont Vieux) is still in use after almost a millennium. Originally built in stone (in 1035), then clad with brick, it rests on eight arches and is 151 m long. In the 14th century, it was fortified and reinforced with a drawbridge, and houses were built on the piers.

Albi is a city known for its elite Lycée Lapérouse, a high school with 500 students situated inside an old monastery. It has several advanced literature classes. Furthermore, it is one of the few holding a full-scale music section with special high-tech rooms for this section.

Albi is the home of the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum. More than 1000 works, including the 31 famous posters, are held here. This body of work forms the largest public collection in the world devoted to Toulouse-Lautrec.

The Pacific explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was born in Albi and his discoveries are commemorated in a museum there.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Episcopal City of Albi Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List Country France Type Cultural Criteria (iv)(v) Reference 1337 UNESCO region Europe Inscription history Inscription 2010 (34th Session)

A World Heritage Site

UNESCO's World Heritage Centre notes the Old Bridge (Pont-Vieux), the Saint-Salvi quarter, the quarter's church, the fortified cathedral (late 13th century) in unique southern French Gothic style from local brick, the bishop’s Palais de la Berbie, and residential quarters, which help the Episcopal City of Albi form a "coherent and homogeneous ensemble of monuments and quarters that has remained largely unchanged over the centuries... a complete built ensemble representative of a type of urban development in Europe from the Middle Ages to the present day."

Climate

Albi experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). Like much of southwestern France, the summers tend to be warmer and the winters milder than most areas of similar classification. Substantial summer rainfall prevents its climate from being classified as Mediterranean.

Climate data for Albi Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 10.1 (50.2) 11.4 (52.5) 14.7 (58.5) 17.4 (63.3) 21.6 (70.9) 25.5 (77.9) 28.7 (83.7) 28.4 (83.1) 24.7 (76.5) 19.7 (67.5) 13.2 (55.8) 10.0 (50) 18.8 (65.8) Average low °C (°F) 1.4 (34.5) 2.2 (36) 3.8 (38.8) 6.2 (43.2) 10.2 (50.4) 13.6 (56.5) 15.8 (60.4) 15.7 (60.3) 12.3 (54.1) 9.5 (49.1) 4.9 (40.8) 2.5 (36.5) 8.2 (46.8) Precipitation mm (inches) 56 (2.2) 53 (2.09) 52 (2.05) 82 (3.23) 80 (3.15) 64 (2.52) 41 (1.61) 56 (2.2) 57 (2.24) 65 (2.56) 60 (2.36) 65 (2.56) 731 (28.78) Mean monthly sunshine hours 97 122 177 184 228 245 271 256 213 154 95 86 2,113 Source: Météo France

Transport

Albi is served by two train stations on the line from Toulouse to Rodez:

Gare d'Albi-Ville Gare d'Albi-Madeleine.

The A68 motorway connects Albi with Toulouse (and Lyon N 88, future motorway).

Sport

SC Albi – The city's rugby union team competing in the second-level Rugby Pro D2. RC Albi – A rugby league team that compete in the Elite Two Championship. Albi held Stage 13 of the 2007 Tour de France. The stage was a 55 km (34 mi) individual time trial which started and finished in the city. Circuit d'Albi, a motor racing circuit used for national racing surrounding Albi's airport.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France Twin towns — sister cities

Albi is twinned with:

Girona, Spain Palo Alto, United States Randwick City Council, Australia Abomey, Benin

Navigation menu

Personal tools Create accountLog in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Edit View history Actions Search Navigation Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Toolbox What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Data item Cite this page Print/export Create a book Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية Български བོད་ཡིག Brezhoneg Català Cebuano Česky Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Kiswahili Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Македонски მარგალური مازِرونی Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Norsk nynorsk Occitan Piemontèis Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Volapük Winaray 中文 Edit links This page was last modified on 4 July 2013 at 17:50. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view /**/if(window.mw){ mw.loader.state({"site":"loading","user":"ready","user.groups":"ready"}); } if(window.mw){ mw.loader.load(,null,true); }