City of Art and History, the capital of the Tarn-et-Garonne (54 000 inhabitants), the birthplace of the famous painter Ingres, Montauban combines the distinctions. 50 km north of Toulouse, it is also considered as the prototype of fortified Southwest.
Montauban was built in 1144 on a spur due to a bend in the Tarn and its two tributaries.
Trading city in the Middle Ages, Protestant place of safety during the Wars of Religion, it reached the height of its economic power during the classical period. The city was built on a geometric plane, thus earning him the title of "prototype houses and new towns" where perpendicular streets isolate blocks.
At the center of the city, the Place Nationale was the heart of the economy. During the medieval period, Montauban enjoyed periods of prosperity but also of decline: the Hundred Years War, the British occupation, plague, famine, a large international and regional trade. The rich merchants and traders were particularly receptive to the ideas of Calvin. Therefore, Montauban became a strategic city militarily, economically and culturally.
With the Edict of Nantes, Montauban is declared "place of safety".In 1621, began the siege of the city by Louis XIII and his troops. More than 400 guns were fired on the ramparts. The church of Saint-Jacques still has traces.
Then comes the Catholic Counter-Reformation where Montauban warrior leaves his past behind her and began a metamorphosis (building the cathedral, the Jesuit College, Bishop's Palace future Ingres Museum , creation of course Foucault, ...). The eighteenth century also saw the cloth trade and grow and give new life to Montauban economy.
In 1808 under the leadership of Napoleon, Tarn-et-Garonne is created and Montauban became the chief town of the department. This setting allows the city to cope with the fall of commerce draper, but also sees the development of the arts with the poet Lefranc de Pompignan, Ingres decorator father, the painter Ingres son, the sculptor Bourdelle ...
With the almost exclusive use of brick in construction, Montauban can be classified among the cities rose du Midi.
Montauban is also evidence of a certain musical vitality with, in particular, two moments: "So sings" (May / June), French song festival known at national level, and "Jazz in Montauban" (July).
The venerable bastide also enjoys a privileged environment, between Quercy hills and terraces of the Garonne: here lie the fields and orchards
ripen AOC Chasselas de Moissac, Melon du Quercy, Queen Claude Label Rouge and other
quality fruit .
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