Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albigés -esa(s)). It is the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. The episcopal city, around the Cathedral Sainte-Cécile, was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

list of

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 2010 for its unique architecture. The site includes the

Musée Toulouse-Lautrec The Musée Toulouse-Lautrec is an art museum in Albi, southern France, dedicated mainly to the work of the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who was born in Albi. The 13th century building was originally the Bishop's Palace of Albi Cathedral, nex ...

, dedicated to the artist who was born in Albi.

Administration

Albi is the seat of four cantons, covering 16

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

, with a total population of 72,416 (2019).

History

The first human settlement in Albi was in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

(3000–600 BC). After the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

conquest of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

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 584, Gregory of Tours reports that the majority of the townsfolk died from plague. 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 Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. F ...

, who had developed their own version of ascetic Christian dualism, and so 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 Bernard de Castanet (c. 1240 – 14 August 1317) was a French lawyer, judge, diplomat, bishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Castanet was not a Dominican, though he had an excellent relationship with the order of the Preachers and o ...

, 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 ''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, or glastum, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with a documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis, derives from ...

. The fine houses built during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

bear witness to the vast fortunes amassed by the pastel merchants. Albi had a small

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community during

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

times, until it was annihilated in the 1320s Shepherds' Crusade. Afterwards,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

were only allowed to transit the town by payment, without living in it. In 1967, approximately 70

lived in Albi, most of them of North-African origin. 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 A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

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

and

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...

, Albi is one of the main cities built in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

-style red brick. Among the buildings of the town is the Sainte Cécile cathedral, a masterpiece of the

Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of fiction, country music, film and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and the American South. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing or ...

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 Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...

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 Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

style. It is decorated with a magnificent group of polychrome statuary carved by artists from the Burgundian workshops of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

and comprising over 200 statues, which have retained their original colours. Older than the ''

Palais des Papes The Palais des Papes (English: Palace of the Popes; ''lo Palais dei Papas'' in Occitan) is a historical palace located in Avignon, Southern France. It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe. Once a fortress ...

'' 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 A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

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. The Pacific explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse is commemorated in the museum. Toulouse-Lautrec - La Goulue arrivant au Moulin Rouge

Toulouse-Lautrec - La Goulue arrivant au Moulin Rouge

Located in an ancient mill (41 rue Porta), the Le LAIT Art Centre is a research laboratory dedicated to contemporary art.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

The Toulouse-Lautrec Museum houses more than 1000 works, including 31 famous posters. This body of work forms the largest public collection in the world devoted to

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in th ...

, who was born in Albi in 1864.

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."

Transport

Albi is served by two railway 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 Sporting Club Albigeois is a professional French rugby union club playing the third-level Nationale. During the past years it went back and forth between Top 14, the highest level of the French league system and the second-level Rugby Pro D2. The ...

– The city's

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team competing in the second-level Rugby Pro D2. * RC Albi – A

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

team that compete in the

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions wor ...

. * US Albi – A Union Sports Football Club established in 1912 in Albi playing the Regional 2 Level. * Albi held Stage 13 of the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...

. The stage was a individual time trial which started and finished in the city. * Albi was the finish of Stage 10 of the

2019 Tour de France The 2019 Tour de France was the 106th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting in the Belgian capital of Brussels on 6 July, before moving throughout France and conclud ...

on Mon 15 July. There was a rest day at Albi on the 16th and Albie was the start of stage 11 to Toulouse On Weds 18 July. *

Circuit d'Albi The Circuit d'Albi is a motorsport race track located in the French town of Le Sequestre near Albi, about northeast of Toulouse. Built to replace the nearby '' Les Planques'' public road circuit, Albi has 70 years of history in motor-racing, ...

, a motor racing circuit used for national racing surrounding Albi's airport.

Education

École des mines d'Albi-Carmaux The École des Mines d'Albi (officially ''École Nationale Supérieure des Mines d'Albi-Carmaux'', also known as ''EMAC'' or ''Mines Albi'', ex-''ENSTIMAC'') was created in 1993. It is a French engineering school (i.e. Grandes écoles) part of ...

* Jean-François Champollion University Center for Teaching and Research

Climate

Albi experiences a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') bordering oceanic climate (''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.

Population

Twin towns – sister cities

Albi is twinned with: *

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

, Spain *

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, United States * Randwick, Australia

Notable people

* Antoinette de Saliès (1639–1730), writer, feminist * Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (1741 – c. 1788), Pacific explorer *

(1864–1901), painter, caricaturist, illustrator

Gallery

(Albi) Eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine vue du premier niveau du Palais épiscopal.jpg, St-Madeleine Church, Albi Albi Sainte-Cécile.JPG, Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile Albi Cathedral Choir (7160566080).jpg, The choir of the cathedral Sainte-cecile albi jugement dernier.JPG, In the cathedral, paintings of the Last Judgement France Albi cloitre Saint Salvy.jpg, Collégiale Saint-Salvi, the oldest church in Albi, dedicated to Saint Salvius Albi - Façade hôtel Reynès.jpg, Hôtel Reynès (Renaissance) (Albi)_Maison_Enjalbert_Albi_XVI°_siècle_MériméePA00095478.jpg, Maison Enjalbert (Renaissance) (Albi) Le Tarn vu du vieux pont vers l'ouest.jpg, Tarn river in Albi (Albi) Palais de la Berbie - Jardin ancienne place d'arme.jpg Albi - Berges du Tarn (1).jpg, Banks of the Tarn river Albi - Berges du Tarn (2).jpg, Banks of the Tarn river (Albi) Palais de la Berbie, depuis le Vieux Pont.jpg (Albi) North views of the Ste Cécile Cathedral.jpg Albi.jpg, Map of Albi, 1914

References

External links

Official website
(in French)
Tourist Office of Albi
– Article from the Catholic Encyclopedia 1908
Albi
(in English)
Detailed description of the Madeleine Church of Albi
{{Authority control Communes of Tarn (department) Prefectures in France World Heritage Sites in France Jewish French history Judaism in France Languedoc Cities in Occitania (administrative region)