Montauban History Sights Economy Demographics Transportation

The town, built mainly of a reddish brick, stands on the right bank of the Tarn River at its confluence with the Tescou .

1 History

With the exception of Mont-de-Marsan, Montauban is the oldest of the bastide s of southern France. Its foundation dates from 1144 when Alphonse Jourdain , count of Toulouse, granted it a liberal charter. The inhabitants were drawn chiefly from Montauriol, a village which had grown up around the neighbouring monastery of St Théodard.

In the 13th century the town suffered much from the ravages of the Albigensians and from the Inquisition, but by 1317 it had recovered sufficiently to be chosen by John XXII as the head of a diocese of which the basilica of St Théodard became the cathedral.

In 1360, at the Treaty of Brétigny, it was ceded to the English; they were expelled by the inhabitants in 1414Events Council of Constance begins. The Habsburg Duke Ernest the Iron ( 1377- 1424) thrones according to the ancient Karantanian ritual of installing dukes on the Duke's Stone and he addresses again as an archduke. Joan II succeeds her brother Ladislas as. In 1560Events February 27 The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. July 6 Treaty of Edinburgh between England, France the bishopA bishop is an ordained person who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. Bishops in the New Testament The bishop's role is typically called the " episcopacy", because the word "bishop" is derived ultimately froms and magistrates embraced ProtestantismProtestantism in the strict sense of the word is the group of princes and imperial cities who, at the diet of Speyer in 1529, tried a protestation against the Edict of Worms which forbade the Lutheran teachings within the Holy Roman Empire. From there, th, expelled the monks, and demolished the cathedral. About ten years later it became one of the HuguenotIn the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. Origin of the Name Originally a term of derision, the origin remains uncertain. It may have derived from the personal name of Besan strongholds, and formed a small independent republic. It was the headquarters of the Huguenot rebellion of 1621Events February 9 Gregory XV is elected pope. February 17 Miles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth Colony March 22 The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags. March 16 Samoset, a Mohegan, visits, and was vainly besieged by Louis XIIILouis XIII ( September 27 1601 May 14 1643) was King of France from 1610 to 1643. Born at the Chateau de Fontainebleau, Louis was the first child of Henri IV and Marie de Medicis. He ascended to the throne at age nine after the assassination of his father for eighty-six days; nor did it submit until after the fall of La Rochelle in 1629, when its fortifications were destroyed by Cardinal Richelieu. In the same year over six thousands inhabitants died of the plague. The Protestants again suffered persecution after the repeal of the Edict of Nantes.

2 Sights

Its fortifications have been replaced by boulevards beyond which extend numerous suburbs, while on the left bank of the Tarn is the suburb of Villebourbon , which is connected with the town by a remarkable bridge of the early 14th century. It is a brick structure over 200 yards in length, but while its fortified towers have disappeared, it is otherwise in good preservation. The Hotel de Ville, on the site of a castle of the Counts of Toulouse and once the residence of the bishops of Montauban, stands at the east end of the bridge. It belongs chiefly to the 17th century, but some portions are much older, notably an underground chamber known as the Hall of the Black Prince. Besides the municipal offices it contains a valuable library, and a museum with collections of antiquities and pictures. The latter comprise most of the work (including his "Jesus among the Doctors") of Jean Ingres, the celebrated painter, whose birth in Montauban is commemorated by an elaborate monument.

The Place Nationale is a square of the 17th century, entered at each corner by gateways giving access to a large open space surrounded by houses carried on double rows of arcades. The prefecture, the law-courts and the remaining public buildings are modern. The chief churches of Montauban are the cathedral, remarkable only for the possession of the "Vow of Louis XIII." one of the masterpieces of Ingres, and the church of St Jacques (14th and 15th centuries), the façade of which is surmounted by a handsome octagonal tower.

3 Economy

The commercial importance of Montauban is due rather to its trade in agricultural produce, horses, game and poultry, than to its industries, which include nursery-gardening, cloth-weaving, cloth-dressing, flour-milling, wood-sawing, and the manufacture of furniture, silk-gauze and straw hats.

4 Demographics

Population:

1906: town, 16,813; commune, 28,688

1999: 51,800

5 Transportation

The town is a railways junction, and communicates with the Garonne by the Canal of Montech .

6 Miscellaneous

Montauban is the seat of a bishop and a court of assize. It has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a chamber of commerce and a board of trade arbitration, lycées and a training college, schools of commerce and viticulture, a branch of the Bank of France, and a faculty of Protestant theology.

Montauban is the birthplace of:

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, (1790-1867), painter
Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929), sculptor & teacher

Initial text from an encyclopedia published in 1911. Please update as needed.

Cities, towns and villages of France

<Hide>

Home > Montauban