Montech (; ) is a
commune in the
Tarn-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn (river), Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its n ...
department in the
Occitanie region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
in southern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
On the
Canal de Garonne is the unique
Montech water slope
The Montech water slope is a type of canal inclined plane built on the Canal de Garonne, in the commune of Montech, Tarn-et-Garonne, Southwest France. It is managed by the publicly owned Voies navigables de France and by-passes a series of five L ...
, a type of canal inclined plane built in 1974. The slope has been out of service since an engine failure in 2009.
Population
History
Middle Ages
In
1134, on the initiative of Raymond Séradis and
d'Alphonse Jourdain,
Count of Toulouse
The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings,
the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...
, Montech became a fortified site, a
Castrum
''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...
, whose function was to better protect the North of Toulouse. Ten years before Montauban a count's castle was built nearby, around which a new town developed. To the south-east, the castle is integrated with a system of fortifications which are surrounded by deep ditches. The plan adopted for this new town corresponds to a
bastide
Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the 13th and 14th centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides ...
-type plan (the bastides were built in the 13th century) with streets crossing at right angles, a central square, fortified gates with a
drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...
at the cardinal points which became the only access routes.
Towers flanked these gates and three of the wings of the enclosure.
The La porte du Terrier (to the north) is the main gate. The city became royal in 1271, at the time of Philip III the Bold who granted it a charter of which several old copies, in Latin, exist. Originally, the parish church of Saint Etienne and its cemetery were located to the northeast of the town, a few hundred meters away. A chapel was probably built near the count's castle, but it was in the 14th century that a new church dedicated to Notre Dame de la Visitation was built.
The bottom of the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and the
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
encroach on the lower courtyard of the castle.
The
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
made Montech a bastion of Catholicism against Protestant Montauban.
Monuments
Montech - Hotel de Ville.jpg, City Hall
Montech - Notre Dame de la Feuillade.jpg, The church 'Our Lady of Feuillade'
Montech - Monument aux Morts.jpg, The War Memorial
Montech - Canal latéral à la garonne - Ecluse N°12 des Peyrets.jpg, Canal locks of Peyrets
Montech - Pigeonnier de Saint-Cry.jpg, The dovecote of St. Cry
See also
*
*
André Abbal
References
Communes of Tarn-et-Garonne
Languedoc
{{TarnGaronne-geo-stub