Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city 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 ...
, the
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of the
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...
department and of the
Occitania
Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...
region. The city is on the banks of the
River Garonne, from the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, from the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
and from
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. It is the
fourth-largest city in
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 ...
after
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
and
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, with 511,684 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries (2022);
its
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
has a population of 1,513,396 inhabitants (2022).
[ Toulouse is the central city of one of the 22 metropolitan councils of France. Between the 2014 and 2020 censuses, its metropolitan area was the third fastest growing among metropolitan areas larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France.
Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of ]Airbus
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
, the SPOT satellite system, ATR ATR may refer to:
Medicine
* Acute transfusion reaction
* Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related, a protein involved in DNA damage repair
Science and mathematics
* Advanced Test Reactor, nuclear research reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory, ...
and the Aerospace Valley
Aerospace Valley () is a French cluster of aerospace engineering companies and research centres. The cluster is located in the regions of Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest of France and is mainly concentrated in and around the ...
. It hosts the CNES
CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...
's Toulouse Space Centre
The Toulouse Space Centre (; CST) is a research and development centre of CNES. Founded in September 1968, it is located in the Rangueil-Lespinet district of Toulouse in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in France. The larg ...
(CST) which is the largest national space centre in Europe, but also, on the military side, the newly created NATO space centre of excellence and the French Space Command and Space Academy. Safran
Safran S.A. () is a French Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace, defence industry, defence and computer security, security corporation headquartered in Paris. It designs, develops and manufactures both commercial and military airc ...
, Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (company), Leonardo (33%). The company is headquartered in Cannes, France.
It provides space-based ...
, Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...
, Collins Aerospace
Collins Aerospace is an American technology company that is one of the world's largest suppliers of aerospace and defense products. It was formed in 2018 from the merger of Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems. Headquartered in Charlotte, ...
and Liebherr-Aerospace also have a significant presence in Toulouse.
The air route between Toulouse–Blagnac and the Parisian airports is the busiest in France, transporting 3.2 million passengers in 2019. According to the rankings of and ''Challenges'', Toulouse is the most dynamic French city.
Founded by the Romans, the city was the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
in the 5th century and the capital of the province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) 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 .
History
...
in the Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
and early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
(provinces were abolished during the French Revolution), making it the unofficial capital of the cultural region of Occitania
Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...
(Southern France). It is now the capital of the administrative region
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
of Occitania
Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...
, the second largest region in Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
.
The University of Toulouse
The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...
is one of the oldest in Europe (founded in 1229). Toulouse is also the home of prestigious higher education schools, notably in the field of aerospace engineering. Together with the university, they have turned Toulouse into the fourth-largest student city in France, with a university population of nearly 140,000 students.
Toulouse counts three UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
s: the Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
(designated in 1996 and shared with other cities), and the Basilica of St. Sernin, the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe, designated in 1998 along with the former hospital Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques because of their significance to the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route. The city's unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname ' ("The Pink city").
Geography
Toulouse is in the south of France, north of the department of Haute-Garonne, on the axis of communication between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is about 80 km from the Pyrenees and the borders with Andorra and Spain.
Hydrography
The city is traversed by the Canal de Brienne, the Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
, the Canal de Garonne
The Garonne Canal (, ) or Canal de Garonne () is a French canal dating from the mid-19th century that connects Toulouse to Castets-en-Dorthe. The remainder of the route to Bordeaux uses the river Garonne. It is the continuation of the Canal du Mid ...
and the rivers Garonne
The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ;
or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...
, Touch
The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...
and Hers-Mort
The Hers-Mort (; ; the "Dead Hers", as opposed to the faster-flowing Hers-Vif, or "Live Hers") is a long river in southern France, a right-bank tributary of the Garonne. Its average flow rate is . The Hers-Mort rises in the Lauragais region, ne ...
.
Climate
Toulouse has a four-season humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(''Cfa'' in the Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
). Too much precipitation during the summer months prevents the city from being classified in the Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
zone.
History
Early history
The Garonne Valley was a central point for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
. The historical name of the city, ''Tolosa'' (Τολῶσσα in Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, and of its inhabitants, the ''Tolosates'', first recorded in the 2nd century BC), is of unknown meaning or origin, possibly from Aquitanian or Iberian
Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to:
*Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra.
The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...
, but it has also been connected to the name of the Gaulish
Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...
Volcae Tectosages
The Volcae () were a Gallic tribal confederation constituted before the raid of combined Gauls that invaded Macedonia c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC. Tribes known by the name Volcae were found sim ...
, or to the same root as Irish
tulach
' or Welsh
twlch
', (little hill).
Toulouse refounded by the Romans on the banks of the Garonne
Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC, when it became a 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 Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
military outpost. After the conquest of Gaul
Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
, it was developed as a Roman city in Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...
. Under the reign of Emperor Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
and thanks to the Pax Romana
The (Latin for ) is a roughly 200-year-long period of Roman history that is identified as a golden age of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stability, hegemonic power, and regional expansion, a ...
, the Romans moved the city a few kilometres from the hills where it was an ''oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...
'' to the banks of the Garonne, which were more suitable for trade.[Collective work directed by Jean-Marc Olivier and Rémy Pech: "''Histoire de Toulouse et de la métropole''". Éditions Privat, 2019.]
In the second half of the 1st century, the emperor Domitian
Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
distinguished Toulouse by placing it under the patronage of the goddess Pallas Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress o ...
, so that the Latin poets Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...
, Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...
and Sidonius Apollinaris
Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Born into the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, he was son-in-law to Emperor Avitus and was appointed Urb ...
called the city ''Palladia Tolosa'' (Palladian Toulouse), a term that was still used in the Renaissance and even today when the city is presented as propitious to the arts and letters.
Around the year 250, Toulouse was marked by the martyrdom of Saturnin
Saturnin of Toulouse (, , , , and , , and ) was one of the ''" Apostles to the Gauls"'' sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236–250) during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250–251) to Christianise Gaul after the pers ...
, the first bishop of Toulouse. This episode illustrates the difficult beginnings of Christianity in Roman Gaul.
Capital of the Visigothic kingdom
In the 5th century, Toulouse fell to the Visigothic kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic people ...
and became one of its major cities, even serving as its capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
, before it fell to the Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
under Clovis
Clovis may refer to:
People
* Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis
** Clovis I (c. 466 – 511), the first king of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler
** Clovis II (c. 634 – c. 657), ...
in 507 during the Battle of Vouillé
The Battle of Vouillé (from Latin ''Campus Vogladensis'') was fought in the northern marches of Visigothic territory, at Vouillé, near Poitiers (Gaul), around Spring 507 between the Franks, commanded by Clovis, and the Visigoths, commanded ...
. From that time, Toulouse was the capital of Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
within the Frankish realm.
Under Frankish rule
In 721, Duke Odo of Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
defeated an invading Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
army at the Battle of Toulouse. Many Arab chroniclers consider that Odo's victory was the real stop to Muslim expansion into Christian Europe
The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
, incursions of the following years being simple raids without real will of conquest (including the one that ended with Charles Martel
Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
's victory at the Battle of Tours
The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and the Battle of the Highway of the Martyrs (), was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle during the Umayyad invasion of Gaul. It resulted in victory for the Frankish an ...
, also called the Battle of Poitiers).
The Frankish conquest of Septimania
Septimania is a historical region in modern-day southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of '' Gallia Narbonensis'' that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theod ...
followed in the 750s, and a quasi-independent County of Toulouse
The County of Toulouse (, , ) was a territory in present-day southern France consisting of the city of Toulouse and its environs, ruled by the Count of Toulouse from the late 9th century until the late 13th century.
After Pippin the Short conq ...
emerged within the Carolingian sub-kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century. The Battle of Toulouse of 844, pitting Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...
against Pepin II of Aquitaine
Pepin II, called the Younger (823 – after 864 in Senlis, Oise, Senlis), was King of Aquitaine from 838 as the successor upon the death of his father, Pepin I of Aquitaine, Pepin I. Pepin II was eldest son of Pepin I and Ingeltrude, daughter ...
, was key in the Carolingian Civil War
The Carolingian civil war was a violent crisis over the succession to the Carolingian Empire following the death of Emperor Louis the Pious in June 840 and lasting until the Treaty of Verdun in August 843. Louis's eldest son, the emperor Lothar I, ...
.
County of Toulouse
Charlemagne had created the county of Toulouse in 778 to guard the border of Muslim Spain, but the disintegration of the kingdom of Aquitaine and the weakness of royal power in the following centuries led to the ''de facto'' independence of the county of Toulouse and many provinces.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, southern France was still steeped in Latin culture. Unlike the north of France, justice followed written Roman law and the nobles were highly educated. This was the time of the troubadours
A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tro ...
who wrote their poetry in Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
(called "Provençal" at the time), then one of the most sophisticated languages in Europe. Like the other great lords of the Midi
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...
, the counts of Toulouse maintained and favoured these poets, this is how Count Raymond V
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
employed for some time the famous Bernard de Ventadour, expert in singing courtly love
Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...
.[''Pyrénées Toulouse Gers'', Le Guide Vert Michelin, 2016.]
In 1096, Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse
Raymond of Saint-Gilles ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 10 ...
, left with his army at the call of the Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...
to join the First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
, of which he was one of the main leaders. This exodus of its warriors and nobles, reinforced by the creation of the faraway County of Tripoli
The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was one of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria.
When the Crusades, Frankish Crusaders, mostly O ...
by Raymond IV at the beginning of the 12th century, weakened the city militarily as well as the ascendancy that its counts had over it. The Duke William IX of Aquitaine
William IX ( or , ; 22 October 1071 – 10 February 1126), called the Troubadour, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou (as William VII) between 1086 and his death. He was also one of the leaders of the Crusade of 1101.
Thoug ...
challenged the possession of the city on the grounds that it should have been inherited by his wife Philippa
Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend", from the Greek Philippos, which is derived from ''philein'', meaning to love and ''hippos'', meaning ''horse''. The English masculine form is Philip, which was form ...
(daughter of the previous count of Toulouse, whereas Raymond IV was only his brother). More than 50 years later his granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
still claimed the inheritance in vain.
In the 12th century the city left its Roman limits and a new district developed around the church of Saint-Sernin: the ''Bourg''. The church of Saint-Sernin was famous and revered for its many relics, and the chapter of its canons, which had possessions as far away as Spain, was powerful enough to free itself from the control of the bishop of Toulouse. This dissent had important local political repercussions, making the ''Bourg'' in practice a separate district from the city. In 1152, the notables of Toulouse took advantage of a weakening of the county power to obtain for their city a great autonomy, they created a municipal body of consuls, called capitoul
The ''capitouls'', sometimes anglicization, anglicized as ''capitols'', were the chief magistrates of the Communes of France, commune of Toulouse, France, during the France in the Middle Ages, late Middle Ages and France in modern times, e ...
s in Toulouse, to lead the city. The ''Bourg'', which had only a quarter of the inhabitants of Toulouse, obtained as many capitouls as the rest of the city. Economically, Toulouse, which was at the center of a large cereal-growing plain, was distinguished by its numerous mills that took advantage of the force of the Garonne, among which the Bazacle Milling Company
The Society of Moulins du Bazacle, also known as Bazacle Company is a French watermill system founded in Toulouse in the 12th century by the citizens of the city to share the operation of a series of mills installed on the site of the Bazacle. Th ...
was the first recorded European joint-stock company.
The fight against Catharism and its various aspects
At the beginning of the thirteenth century the County of Toulouse was caught up in another crusade that would last twenty years (1209-1229), of which it was the target this time. The reason for this was the development of Catharism
Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries.
Denounced as a he ...
in the south of France, which the Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
wanted to eradicate by all possible means.
After an initial victory of the crusaders led by Simon de Montfort who defeated the combined forces of Count Raymond VI of Toulouse
Raymond VI (; 27 October 1156 – 2 August 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190.
Early life
Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, the son of ...
and King Peter II of Aragon
Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213.
Background
Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile, Queen of Aragon, Sancha ...
at the Battle of Muret
The Battle of Muret (Occitan: Batalha de Murèth), fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Althoug ...
, the following years saw the fate of the county of Toulouse swing alternately in favour of one party or the other. Finally, a late intervention by King Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a prince, he invaded Kingdom of England, England on 21 May 1216 and was Excommunication in the Catholic Church, excommunicated by a ...
in 1226 tipped the balance in favour of the crusaders, resulting in the submission of Count Raymond VII to the French Crown and the end of the independence of the County of Toulouse.
But beyond the military crusade, this struggle took on several important aspects for the city of Toulouse:
* The Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...
was founded in Toulouse by Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...
in 1215. Spanish priest Dominic de Guzmán wanted to convert the Cathars to Catholicism peacefully, by preaching and by living a poor and exemplary life. After years of criss-crossing the Lauraguais countryside between Carcassonne and Toulouse, he changed his method and decided to preach in town. In 1215 he settled in Toulouse and founded a mendicant order
Mendicant orders are primarily certain Catholic religious orders that have vowed for their male members a lifestyle of poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelization, and ministry, especially to less we ...
which, within a few decades, would cover Europe with hundreds of convents: The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans.
* Under the impulse of the bishop of Toulouse, Foulques, an original and austere architectural style was born in Toulouse, designed to break with the display of luxury of the Catholic church which drove the faithful towards the Cathars: the Southern French Gothic.
* In the Treaty of Paris of 1229, Toulouse formally submitted to the crown of France. The county's sole heiress Joan was engaged to Alphonse, Count of Poitiers
Alphonse (11 November 122021 August 1271) was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse (as such called Alphonse II) from 1249. As count of Toulouse, he also governed the Marquisate of Provence.
Birth and early life
Born at Poissy, ...
, a younger brother of Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...
. The marriage became legal in 1241, but it remained childless and so after Joan's death, the county fell to the Crown of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
by inheritance.
* Another consequence of the Treaty of Paris was the creation of the University of Toulouse
The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...
, established on the Parisian model, strongly sponsored by the pope and intended as a means to dissolve the heretic movement.
* Also in 1229, the Council of Toulouse was held, which laid the foundations for the long period of Inquisition
The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
that was to eradicate Catharism in the region after the military victory of the Crusade.
Kingdom of France
In 1271, Joan of Toulouse and her husband Alphonse of Poitiers died without heirs. Toulouse, which since the treaty of 1229 had been subordinate to the kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
, no longer had a count and was annexed to the royal domain. The installation of numerous royal officers and the development of trade and crafts, which favoured the social ascension of merchants, renewed the city's elites. In 1298, King Philip the Fair greatly facilitated the possibility of ennobling the capitouls, whose council, renewed every year, was increasingly made up of rich merchants.
The first half of the 14th century was a prosperous period, despite the dismemberment in 1317 of the very large bishopric of Toulouse (which lost two thirds of its area and a large part of its income, a loss only partially compensated by its elevation to the rank of archbishopric), and the episode of the Shepherds' Crusade which brought a pogrom
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
against Toulouse's Jewish population in 1320. In 1335, Toulouse had between 35,000 and 40,000 inhabitants.
In 1323, the ''Consistori del Gay Saber
The (; "Consistory of the Gay Science") was a poetic academy founded at Toulouse in 1323 to revive and perpetuate the lyric poetry of the troubadours.
Also known as the Acadèmia dels Jòcs Florals or Académie des Jeux Floraux ("Academy of th ...
'' was created in Toulouse to preserve the lyric art of the troubadour
A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tr ...
s by organizing a poetry contest; and Toulouse became the centre of Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
literary culture for the following centuries. The ''Consistori'' is considered to be the oldest literary society in Europe, at the origin of one of the most sophisticated treatise
A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...
on grammar and rhetoric of the Middle Ages, and in 1694 it was transformed into the Royal Academy of the Floral Games
Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with floral prizes. In Occitan, their original language, and Catalan they are known as (, ; modern or ). In French, they became the (), and in Basque (). The origina ...
(''Académie des Jeux Floraux''), still active today, by king Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
.
The 14th century also saw a significant increase in the influence of the University of Toulouse, particularly following the move of the papacy from Rome to Avignon. Many law graduates from the University of Toulouse had brilliant careers in the Avignon curia, several became cardinals and three became popes: John XXII
Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by the Conclave of ...
, Innocent VI and Urban V
Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...
. These powerful prelates financed the establishment of colleges in the university towns of southern France, not only Toulouse but also Montpellier, Cahors and Avignon.[Cyril Eugene Smith: "University of Toulouse in the middle ages, its origins and growth to 1500 AD." Ed. The Marquette university press, 1958.]
The Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
in 1348, then the Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
caused a major crisis that lasted until the following century. Despite strong immigration, the population lost more than 10,000 inhabitants in 70 years. By 1405 Toulouse had only 19,000 people. In these hardships, the city was the key stronghold of the French defence in the south of France during the worst years of the Hundred Years' War, when the English troops from Aquitaine had taken Montauban and only Toulouse remained as an obstacle to their conquest of southern France. This military threat to the city and especially to the surrounding countryside was not conducive to its development, despite the strengthening of ties with the royalty that it entailed.
In 1369, pope Urban V
Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...
attributed to the Dominican church of the Jacobins of Toulouse the bones of the Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he wa ...
, perhaps to honor the city that had been the cradle of the Dominican order at the beginning of the previous century.
The political and economic situation improved by the middle of the 15th century. In 1443 King Charles VII established the second parlement
Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
of France after that of Paris. Reinforcing its place as an administrative and judicial center, the city grew richer, participating in the trade of Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...
with England, as well as cereals and textiles. A major source of income was the production and export of ''pastel'', a blue dye made from woad
''Isatis tinctoria'', also called woad (), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed, 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, ''Isati ...
.
Toulouse suffered several fires, but it was in 1463 that the Great Fire of Toulouse broke out, ravaging the city for fifteen days. After this dramatic event, King Louis XIII exempted the city from taxes for 100 years. The capitouls issued municipal decrees favouring the use of brick in buildings, rather than excessively flammable wood or cob.
In the 16th century, and until 1562, the economy of Toulouse experienced a golden age: its parlement made it the judicial capital of a large part of southern France, and the city became the first European centre for the trade in woad, the only blue dye then known in Europe which was very much in demand in the textile industry at the time. Its humanist milieu developed thanks to its university and parlement, which trained and attracted intellectual elites. The wealth generated by this culturally and economically dynamic environment is the source of the superb Renaissance mansions in Toulouse. In 1550 the population of the city made it the second or third largest city in France. It was estimated to have 50,000 inhabitants, a figure it would not regain until the 18th century.[Collective work directed by Pascal Julien, «catalogue de l'exposition Toulouse Renaissance» ("Toulouse Renaissance exhibition catalogue"), Somogy éditions d'art, 2018.]
In 1562, 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 ...
began and Toulouse became an ultra-Catholic stronghold in a predominantly Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
region, the era of economic prosperity came to an end. The governor of Languedoc, Henri II de Montmorency
Henri de Montmorency, 4th Duke of Montmorency (1595 – 30 October 1632) was a French nobleman and military commander. Made Grand admiral in 1612, governor of Languedoc in 1614, and by 1620 was viceroy of New France. Despite defeating a Protesta ...
, who had rebelled, was executed in 1632 in the Capitole in the presence of King Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
and Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
.
In 1666, Pierre-Paul Riquet
Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (; 29 June 1609 (some sources say 1604) – 4 October 1680) was the engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi.
Early life
Born as Paul Riquet in Béziers, Hérault, Fran ...
started the construction of the Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
which links Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea, and is considered one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century. Completed in 1681, the canal stimulated the economy of Toulouse by promoting the export of cereals and the import of olive oil, wine and other goods from the Mediterranean regions.
In the 18th century, Toulouse was a provincial capital that prided itself on its royal academies (the only city in France, along with Paris, to have three royal academies), but sometimes seemed far removed from the debates of ideas that agitated the Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. A famous example illustrates this backwardness of Toulouse mentalities of the time: in 1762 its powerful parlement sentenced Jean Calas
Jean Calas (1698 – 10 March 1762) was a merchant living in Toulouse, France, who was tried, judicially tortured, and executed for the murder of his son, despite his protestations of innocence. Calas was a Protestant in an officially Catholic so ...
to death. The philosopher Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
then accused the Parlement of Toulouse of religious intolerance (Calas was a Huguenot), gave the affair a European repercussion and succeeded in having the judgment of the parlement quashed by the King's Council, which did much damage to the reputation of the parlement. It was on this occasion that Voltaire published one of his major philosophical works: his famous ''Treatise on Tolerance''.
With the French Revolution of 1789 and the reform or suppression of all royal institutions, Toulouse lost much of its power and influence: until then the capital of the vast province of Languedoc, with a parlement ruling over an even larger territory, the city then found itself simply at the head of the single small department of Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...
.
19th century
On 10 April 1814, four days after Napoleon's surrender of the First French Empire, French Empire to the nations of the Sixth Coalition (a fact that the two armies involved were not yet aware of), the Battle of Toulouse (1814), Battle of Toulouse pitted the Hispanic-British troops of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Wellington against the French troops of Napoleonic Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult, Soult, who, although they managed to resist, were forced to withdraw. Toulouse was thus the scene of the last Franco-British battle on French territory.
Unlike most large French cities, there was no real industrial revolution in 19th century Toulouse. The most important industries were the gunpowder factory, to meet military needs, and the tobacco factory. In 1856 the railway arrived in Toulouse and the city was modernised: the ramparts were replaced by large boulevards, and major avenues such as the ''rue d'Alsace-Lorraine'' and the ''rue de Metz'' opened up the historic centre.
In 1875, a flood of the Garonne devastated more than 1,000 houses and killed 200 people. It also destroyed all the bridges in Toulouse, except the Pont Neuf, Toulouse, Pont-Neuf.
20th and 21st centuries
World War I brought to Toulouse (geographically sheltered from enemy attacks) chemical industries as well as aviation workshops (Pierre-Georges Latécoère, Latécoère, Dewoitine), which launched the city's aeronautical construction tradition and gave birth after the war to the famous ''Aéropostale (aviation), Aéropostale'', a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse and whose epics were popularised by the novels of writers such as Joseph Kessel and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (himself an ''Aéropostale'' pilot).[Jean-Marie Pailler, Annick Thomas and Jack Thomas: ''Petite Histoire de Toulouse'', Éditions Cairn, 2017.]
In the 1920s and 1930s the rise of the Toulouse population was increased by the arrival of Italians and Spaniards fleeing the fascist regimes of their country. Then, in the early 1960s, Pieds-noirs, French repatriates from Algerian War, Algeria swelled the city's population.
In 1963, Toulouse was chosen to become one of the country's eight "balancing Metropolis", regaining a position among the country's major cities that it had always had, but lost in the 19th century. The French state then encouraged the city's specialisation in aeronautics and space activities, sectors that had experienced strong growth in recent decades, fueling economic and population growth.
On 21 September 2001, an Toulouse chemical factory explosion, explosion occurred at the AZF fertiliser factory, causing 31 deaths, about 30 seriously wounded and 2,500 light casualties. The blast measured 3.4 on the Richter scale and the explosion was heard away.
In 2016, a territorial reform made Toulouse the regional prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie, the second largest region in metropolitan France, giving it a role commensurate with its past as a provincial capital among the most important in France.
Population
The population of the city proper (French: ''Commune of France, commune'') was 511,684 as of January 2022, with 1,513,396 inhabitants in the functional area (France), metropolitan area,[ up from 1,268,438 at the January 2009 census. Thus, the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of +1.63% per year between 2009 and 2021, the third-highest growth rate of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants in France, after Montpellier and Bordeaux, although it was slightly lower than the growth rate registered between the 1990 and 2009 censuses. Toulouse is the fourth most populated city in France, after ]Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
and Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
, and the fifth most populated metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille. During the next census 2023 or 2024, the city of Toulouse should become the 3rd most populous city in France ahead of Lyon because its growth is stronger.
Fueled by booming aerospace and high-tech industries, the Toulouse metropolitan area's population grew by 57.3% between the 1990 and 2020 censuses (within its 2020 borders), which means +1.52% per year on average during those 30 years, compared with a growth of 15.3% for metropolitan France between 1990 and 2020, i.e. +0.48% per year. This was the second-highest population growth of any French metropolitan area larger than 500,000 inhabitants (only the Montpellier metropolitan area grew more than Toulouse between 1990 and 2019).
The Toulouse metropolitan area reached 1,513,396 inhabitants in January 2022, and stood as the 5th most populated metropolitan area in France, behind the metropolitan areas of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille, but ahead of the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, which the Toulouse metropolitan area passed in population in the 1990s. During the next census 2023, the metropolitan area of Toulouse will become the 4th most populous in France ahead of Lille because its growth is stronger.
A local Jewish group estimates there are about 2,500 Jewish families in Toulouse. A Muslim association has estimated there are some 35,000 Muslims in town.
Immigration
Government and politics
Toulouse Métropole
The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse (''Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Toulouse'') was created in 2001 to better coordinate transport, infrastructure and economic policies between the city of Toulouse and its immediate independent suburbs. It succeeds a previous district which had been created in 1992 with fewer powers than the current council. It combines the city of Toulouse and 24 independent ''communes'', covering an area of , totalling a population of 583,229 inhabitants (as of 1999 census), 67% of whom live in the city of Toulouse proper. As of February 2004 estimate, the total population of the Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse was 651,209 inhabitants, 65.5% of whom live in the city of Toulouse. Due to local political feuds, the Community of Agglomeration only hosts 61% of the population of the metropolitan area, the other independent suburbs having refused to join in. Since 2009, the Community of agglomeration has become an urban community (in French: communauté urbaine). This has become a métropole in 2015, spanning 37 communes with 806,503 inhabitants in 2020 census.
Local politics
One of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis, the Mayor (France), mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of the centrist Union for French Democracy, UDF. First known as a journalist known for his coverage of the war in Lebanon, 36-year-old Dominique Baudis succeeded his father Pierre Baudis in 1983 as mayor of Toulouse. (Pierre Baudis was mayor from 1971 to 1983.)
Baudis tried to strengthen the international role of Toulouse (such as its Airbus
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) 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 .
History
...
and symbol of the counts of Toulouse, was chosen as the new flag of the city, instead of the traditional coat of arms of Toulouse (which included the fleur de lis of the French monarchy). Many cultural institutions were created, in order to attract foreign expatriates and emphasise the city's past. For example, monuments dating from the time of the History of Toulouse, counts of Toulouse were restored, the city's symphonic concert hall (''Halle aux Grains'') was refurbished, a city theater was built, a Museum of Modern Art was founded, the Bemberg Foundation (European paintings and Bronze sculpture, bronzes from the Renaissance to the 20th century) was established, a huge pop music concert venue (''Zénith'', the largest in France outside Paris) was built, the space museum and educational park ''Cité de l'Espace'' was founded, etc.
To deal with growth, major housing and transportation projects were launched. Line A of the Rapid transit, underground was opened in 1993, and line B opened in 2007. The creation of a system of underground car parking structures in Toulouse city centre was sharply criticised by the The Greens (France), Green Party.
In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%. He announced that he would not run for a fourth (6-year) term in 2001. He explained that with 3 terms he was already the longest-serving mayor of Toulouse since the French Revolution; he felt that change would be good for the city, and that the number of terms should be limited. He endorsed Philippe Douste-Blazy, then Union for French Democracy, UDF mayor of Lourdes as his successor. Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA (''Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel'') in Paris, the French equivalent of the American Federal Communications Commission, FCC.
Philippe Douste-Blazy narrowly won in the 2001 elections, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Douste-Blazy had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF (factory), AZF plant in late 2001.
In March 2004, he entered the national government, and left Toulouse in the hands of his second-in-command Jean-Luc Moudenc, elected mayor by the municipal council. In March 2008, Moudenc was defeated by the Socialist Party's candidate Pierre Cohen.
At the next elections in 2014 Moudenc defeated Cohen in a rematch to re-take the job with more than 52% of the votes, and he was re-elected with almost the same score in 2020.
Mayors
Sights and architecture
Classified "City of Art and History", Toulouse has a very rich architectural heritage ranging from large Romanesque and Gothic churches to neo-classical facades such as that of the Capitole, to the prestigious mansions of the Renaissance. This ancient heritage is mainly enclosed within the 220 hectares of the city's inner boulevard (one of the largest protected urban areas in France).
Almost all the buildings of the historical centre were made with the traditional building material of the region: the "foraine" brick that has earned the city the nickname of ''Ville rose'' (Pink city). Medieval heir to the Roman brick, the "foraine" brick is characterised by its large dimensions, its flat appearance and its colour ranging from orange/pink to red.
White stone is also present in smaller quantities. As there were no stone quarries near Toulouse, it was transported from the Pyrenees via the Garonne river and was for a long time rare and therefore expensive, considered in Toulouse as a luxury material. However, it is enough to give Toulouse's architecture one of its characteristics: red/white polychromy.
Romanesque architecture (11th-12th c.)
The Romanesque architecture of Toulouse is largely dominated by the presence of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, one of the most important churches of its time in Europe, and fortunate enough to keep its Romanesque character virtually intact.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin
Saint-Sernin Basilica, Basilica of Saint-Sernin, part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France, Way of Saint James UNESCO World Heritage Site, was also in itself a major place of pilgrimage. It is one of the two largest surviving Romanesque architecture, Romanesque churches in Europe.[Speyer cathedral is slightly larger, but unlike Saint-Sernin this church has been largely destroyed and rebuilt in its history, so the question of which is the largest remaining Romanesque church depends on the criteria chosen as to Romanesque character.] With more than two hundred relics (including that of Saturnin, Saint Saturnin who gave his name to the church), many of which were donated by Charlemagne to the shrine that preceded the present church, Saint-Sernin is the church with the most relics after Saint Peter of Rome.[Jean-Claude Jaffé, "''Toulouse, le patrimoine révélé''". Éditions Privat, 2013.]
Conceived from the outset as a gigantic reliquary, the church was mainly built at the end of the 11th century and at the beginning of the 12th century to welcome the crowds of pilgrims, its double-sided aisles and the ambulatory surrounding the apse make it the archetype of the great pilgrimage church, where pilgrims could make the circuit around the church and were able to stop for meditation and prayer at the apsidal chapels of the transept and the radiating chapels of the choir. The church is also particularly noteworthy for the quality of its Romanesque sculptures, including numerous capitals and the historiated tympanum of the Miègeville gate, one of the first of its kind.[Quitterie and Daniel Cazes, "See you in Toulouse". Éditions Sud-Ouest, 2018.]
File:Basilique_Saint-Sernin_de_Toulouse_-_exposition_ouest-1-.jpg, Basilica of Saint-Sernin
File:Toulouse Saint Sernin (2012.08) 08.jpg, The east side is the oldest part.
File:Tympan_de_la_porte_Miegeville.jpg, Romanesque tympanum of Miègeville gate (late 11th c. or early 12th c.)
File:Console_aux_personnages_symmétiques.JPG, Romanesque sculptures
File:Nef de la Basilique Saint-Sernin. - FRAC31555 18Fi019.jpg, The central nave of the church
Gothic architecture (13th c.-early 16th c.)
Southern French Gothic: a militant religious architecture
file:Toulouse - Jacobins et ND du Taur.jpg, Southern French Gothic bell towers and churches
At the beginning of the 13th century, the Catholic clergy of the South of France, seeing a growing number of the faithful turning to the Catharism
Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries.
Denounced as a he ...
which advocated a more pious austerity, showed the will to correct the defects of the Catholic Church which indulged in luxury. Under the impulse of the bishop of Toulouse, Foulques, an austere and militant architectural style was born with the reconstruction of the Cathedral of Toulouse: the Southern French Gothic. Conceived according to an ideal of poverty and humility to bring the faithful together in a single, vast nave to facilitate preaching, this architectural style then developed during the 13th century in the grand Mendicant orders, mendicant convents of the city, before spreading in the 14th century to a large number of churches and cathedrals in the region.[Caroline de Barrau, "''Le gothique toulousain, un art militant''", in magazine VMF of march 2010 (''revue des Vieilles Maisons Françaises''), in French.]
Several churches or convents in Toulouse belong to this architectural trend, but two of them are particularly symbolic and remarkable:
* Toulouse Cathedral, Cathedral of Saint-Étienne (Saint Stephen) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse. Its construction, which was mainly done at the beginning and then at the end of the 13th century, reflects the history of this decisive century which saw the city lose its independence to become a French city. The single nave is the first example of Southern French Gothic, at 19 metres wide it probably was at its completion the widest in Western Europe (1210-1220). The higher choir that adjoins it was built in the Gothic style of northern France shortly after the city became part of the Crown of France in 1271.
* Church of the Jacobins, Convent of the Jacobins (13th century / early 14th century) was the Dominican convent of Toulouse and is considered to be, together with the Albi Cathedral, the pinnacle of Southern French Gothic architecture. Like all Southern French Gothic churches it has a deliberately austere exterior, but on the inside its alignment of cylindrical columns form one of the tallest colonnades ever erected in Gothic architecture (28 metres high). The masterpiece of this church is the column that closes the choir (1275-1292), its palm tree shape was a hundred years ahead of the flamboyant gothic fan vaults. Because he thought that the bones of Saint Thomas Aquinas deserved «the most beautiful and most splendid surroundings», in 1368 Pope Urban V made the church of the Jacobins the burial place of the famous Dominican friar, one of the most notable philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages.
File:Façade_de_la_cathédrale_Saint-Étienne_de_Toulouse.jpg, Toulouse cathedral
File:Ancienne nef, cathédrale Saint-Étienne, Toulouse.jpg, Southern French Gothic nave and northern Gothic choir
File:Couvent_des_Jacobins_de_Toulouse.jpg, Church of the Jacobins, exterior (13th c.)
File:Toulouse-Jacobins-voûte.jpg, The vault of the Jacobins and its famous palm tree
File:Cloître_et_clocher_des_Jacobins.jpg, Cloister (14th c.) and bell tower (1298) of the Jacobins
File:Augustins - Grand cloître et clocher des Augustins de Toulouse.jpg, Augustinian Convent (14th c.)
File:31 - Eglise Notre-Dame du Taur - Facade.jpg, Wall belfry of Notre-Dame du Taur (14th c.)
Gothic civil architecture
Toulouse has preserved about thirty Gothic stair towers (plus a dozen Renaissance or later towers), the remains of private mansions (called ''hôtel particulier, hôtels particuliers'') from the Middle Ages and the early 16th century. Often hidden in courtyards, some of these towers are high enough to exceed their function of serving the floors and display the ambition of their owners.
At a time when most of the houses in Toulouse were built in wood or Cob (material), cob, the brick construction of these towers and ''hôtels'' also testifies to their quality.
File:Toulouse - Tour de Séguy 1477 01.jpg, Séguy tower, 1477
File:Toulouse - Tour de Boysson.jpg, Boysson tower, 1478
File:Delfau-sommet-2.jpg, Delfau tower, 1497
File:Lancefoc et Serta.jpg, Lancefoc tower (late 15th c.) and Serta tower (1529)
File:Olmieres-tour.jpg, Olmières tower, 1503
File:Bernuy-sommet-2.jpg, Bernuy tower, 1504
File:Bruni-tour.jpg, Bruni tower, 1510
File:Tour de Berenguier Bonnefoy 1513.JPG, Beringuier Bonnefoy tower, 1513
File:2_rue_Saint-Rome_-_Tour_Serta.jpg, Serta tower, 1529
File:Toulouse_-_Maison_Pierre_Delfau_-_Porche_PA00094614.jpg, Door of the Hotel Delfau
Renaissance architecture (16th c.-early 17th c.)
In the 16th century, Toulouse experienced a golden age coinciding with the Renaissance in France. The Isatis tinctoria, woad trade (''pastel'') brought merchants of international stature to the city, and the Parlement of Toulouse made the city the judicial capital of a large part of the south of France. These wealthy elites had private mansions built, remarkable for their architecture inspired by architectural treatises such as those of Sebastiano Serlio, Serlio, Leon Battista Alberti, Alberti or Vitruvius, but also by the royal castles of the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, Loire Valley and the History of Île-de-France, Île-de-France.
Renowned for the quality of their architecture, the private mansions of the Toulouse Renaissance that have survived to the present day were built over more than a century (around 1515–1620) by reputed architects such as Louis Privat, Nicolas Bachelier, Dominique Bachelier or Pierre Souffron. The most famous of these ''hôtels'' are those of Hôtel d'Assézat, Assézat, Hôtel de Bernuy, Bernuy, Hôtel du Vieux-Raisin, Vieux-Raisin or Hôtel de Bagis, Clary...
File:Hôtel d'Assézat - Main courtyard - 2014-09-01.jpg, Classical facades of hôtel d'Assézat
File:Assezat-15(1).jpg, Hôtel d'Assézat
File:Toulouse - Voûte de l'hôtel de Bernuy.jpg, Low vault of hôtel de Bernuy
File:Vx-raisin_(2).jpg, Renaissance windows at hôtel du Vieux-Raisin
File:Clary_(1).jpg, The hôtel de Clary and its Mannerist decoration
File:Toulouse-vx-raisin-porte-escalier_01.jpg, Door of hôtel du Vieux-Raisin
File:Assezat-02(12).jpg, Portal of hôtel d'Assézat
File:31_-_Hôtel_d'Assézat_-_Porte_escalier_de_l'angle_nord-ouest.jpg, Door of hôtel d'Assézat
File:Toulouse-porte-assezat-academies.jpg, Door of hôtel d'Assézat
File:Felzins-facade.jpg, Portal of Hôtel de Felzins, hôtel Molinier
File:Ancien_petit_Séminaire_de_l'Esquile.jpg, Portal of a former college of the university
File:Façade_de_Notre-Dame_de_la_Dalbade_-_Portail.jpg, Portal of Dalbade church
File:Hotel_de_Bagis_-_Porte_des_vieillards.jpg, Door of hôtel de Bagis
File:Capitole_de_Toulouse_-_Cour_Henri_IV_-_portail_de_Nicolas_Bachelier.jpg, Triumphal portal of the Capitole
17th century architecture
17th century religious architecture
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 ...
, which started in the second half of the 16th century, brought to the city many religious orders who came to seek asylum in this solid Catholic bastion. They had baroque churches built in the 17th century: among them, the Carthusians, Order of Carthusians, expelled by the Huguenots from the region of Castres, founded the church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux, the order of the Discalced Carmelites built the church of Saint-Exupère, the Confraternity of penitents, blue penitents founded the church of Saint-Jérôme and the order of Carmelite nuns created a convent of which a remarkable painted chapel remains.
File:St Pierre des Chartreux - PA00094503.jpg, Church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux
File:Toulouse_-_St-Pierre_des_chartreux_-_intérieur.jpg, Church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux
Eglise Saint-Pierre des Chartreux de Toulouse - Façade.jpg, Portal of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux
File:Eglise_Saint-Exupère_de_Toulouse.jpg, Church of Saint-Exupère
File:Eglise_Saint-Exupère_de_Toulouse_-_St_Joseph_by_Drouet.jpg, Church of Saint-Exupère (detail of the facade)
File:Toulouse - Chapelle des Carmélites.jpg, Chapel of the Carmelites, painted decoration
17th century civil architecture
After the Renaissance, the decorations in civil architecture became less numerous and ostentatious, due to the importance given to the moderation of the architectural structures and the development of interior decorations. The play of colours (between brick and stone) and reliefs (bossing) were less costly and nevertheless effective solutions for livening up facades. The 17th century is the century that gave Toulouse the largest number of its private mansions, most of them built by members of parlement.[Guy Ahlsell de Toulza, Louis Peyrusse, Bruno Tollon, «Hôtels et demeures de Toulouse et du Midi toulousain» ("Hotels and residences in Toulouse and the region of Toulouse"), Editor Daniel Briand, 1997.]
Hotel_de_Caulet-Resseguier_(Toulouse).jpg, Hôtel de Caulet
Hôtel Pierre Comère.jpg, Hôtel Comère
(Toulouse) 24 Grande-rue Nazareth - Hôtel d'Avizard - Façade.jpg, Hôtel d'Avizard
Hotel_st_Jean_3.jpg, Hôtel Saint-Jean (courtyard), former Grand Priory of Knights Hospitaller
Toulouse-Capitole-Cour_Henri_IV_(2).jpg, Henri IV courtyard of the Capitole: brick and stone.
Hôtel_d'Orbessan_(Toulouse)_-_Façade_rue_Mage_-_Le_portail.jpg, Portal of hôtel d'Orbessan
Toulouse - Portail Desplats.jpg, Portal of hôtel Desplats (courtyard)
18th century architecture
In the 18th century Toulouse made its living from its parlement and from the wheat and corn trade, which was boosted by the creation of the Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
at the end of the previous century. Among the major architectural achievements, the most notable were undoubtedly the construction of the quays of the Garonne and the new facade of the Capitole (1750-1760), designed by architect Guillaume Cammas.
In the last third of the 18th century, the ever increasing influence of the Parisian model meant that red brick was no longer popular: the city facades were then whitewashed to imitate stone. This is why nowadays, even though the white paint has generally been removed, there are walls with deep grooves carved in brick to imitate ashlar architecture.
File:Capitole-27.jpg, Capitole - city hall
File:Hôtel_d'Espie.JPG, Hôtel d'Espie
File:Hôtel_d'Espie_-_Portail_sur_la_rue_Mage_à_Toulouse.jpg, Portal of hôtel d'Espie
File:Ancien_hôtel_de_Bonfontan_-_41_rue_Croix-Baragnon_Toulouse_-_MériméePA00094534_-_ferronneries_de_style_rocaille,_par_Bernard_Ortet.jpg, Hôtel de Bonfontan
File:Toulouse_-_Basilique_de_la_Daurade_(1).jpg, Basilica of la Daurade
19th century architecture
Toulouse's 19th century architecture can be divided into three periods, which sometimes overlapped. In the first half of the century, at the instigation of architect Jacques-Pascal Virebent, the main architecturally unified squares were created: the ''Place du Capitole'' and the ''Place Wilson'' (called ''place Villeneuve'' when it was built), whose uniform architecture was inspired by Rue de Rivoli in Paris.
From 1830 onwards, Auguste Virebent and his brothers (sons of Jacques-Pascal) developed a factory of low-cost moulded decorations which met with great success and adorned Toulouse facades with numerous terracotta ornaments, far from the austere architecture of their father.
Then, in the last third of the 19th century, large Haussmann-style avenues were opened in the town centre, such as the central Alsace-Lorraine street, built in yellow brick to imitate Parisian stone.
File:Toulouse-Place du Capitole.jpg, ''Place du Capitole'', the main square of Toulouse (19th c.)
File:Café_Bibent.jpg, ''Place du Capitole'' (''Café Bibent'')
File:Maison Lamothe (Toulouse).jpg, Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.)
File:Immeuble_28_rue_des_Marchands.jpg, Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.)
File:Toulouse - rue d'Alsace.jpg, Yellow brick of Alsace-Lorraine street (19th c.)
20th and 21st centuries architecture
From the middle of the 19th century, the arrival of the railway in Toulouse facilitated the supply of stone and made it cheaper for construction, and architects did not hesitate to play on the old traditional Toulouse codes linked to the prestige of stone construction, even if these no longer had the economic justification of yesteryear. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, the main railway station was built entirely in white stone.
Subsequently, concrete replaced the traditional materials, but brick and stone were still used for cladding, as shown recently by the work of prestigious architects such as Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown for the seat of the departmental council, or Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell for the Toulouse School of Economics building.
File:Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau - Facade et le Parvis Canal.jpg, Toulouse-Matabiau station, 1905
File:Façade Art Nouveau, rue Gambetta.jpg, Art nouveau facade, Gambetta street (early 20th c.)
File:Immeuble dit de La Dépêche du Midi, Toulouse.jpg, Art Deco facade, Alsace-Lorraine street ()
File:Toulouse - Conseil départemental 31.jpg, Seat of the departmental council (1999), by the architect Robert Venturi, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1991
File:Université Toulouse Capitole juin 2020.jpg, Seat of the Toulouse School of Economics (2019), by Grafton Architects, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2020
Banks of the Garonne, Canal du Midi, parks
The banks of the Garonne, Garonne river offer an interesting urban panorama of the city. Red brick dykes from the 18th century enclose the river which was subject to destructive floods. The Pont Neuf, Toulouse, Pont-Neuf took almost a century to build as the project was so ambitious (1545-1632). It was a very modern bridge for its time, removing the housing on the deck and using techniques such as lowered arches, openings in the piers and stacked spouts to spread the water, making it the only bridge in Toulouse to withstand the violent floods of the past. Further downstream, the Bazacle is a ford across the Garonne
The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ;
or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...
river, in the 12th century the Bazacle Milling Company
The Society of Moulins du Bazacle, also known as Bazacle Company is a French watermill system founded in Toulouse in the 12th century by the citizens of the city to share the operation of a series of mills installed on the site of the Bazacle. Th ...
was the first recorded European joint-stock company. On the left bank of the river, historically a flood-prone bank, stand two former hospitals whose origins date back to the 12th century: the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques and the Hôpital de La Grave. Isolated on the left bank, victims of the plague and other sick people were thus kept away from the city by the width of the river.
Built at the end of the 17th century, the Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
bypasses the city centre and has linked Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea ever since. Its 240 kilometres were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 1996.
The ''Jardin des Plantes, Toulouse, Jardin des Plantes'', the ''Grand Rond'' and the ''Jardin Royal'' form a set of adjacent parks that span several blocks and include the Museum of Natural History, cafés, children's activities and a botanical garden (18th-19th century). The ''Prairie des Filtres'', the Raymond VI garden and the Japanese garden are other interesting parks that border the center of Toulouse.
File:Le Pont-Neuf de Toulouse.jpg, ''Pont-Neuf'' (16th-17th c.)
File:Garonne_5102.jpg, Red brick dykes from the 18th century
File:Panorama Quais & Pont Neuf Toulouse.jpg, Quays of the Garonne and ''Pont-Neuf''
File:Hotel-dieu-02b(1).jpg, ''Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques'' former hospital (12th–19th c.)
File:Hopital_de_la_Grave_-_Toulouse_-_2012-06-23.jpg, ''Hôpital de La Grave, La Grave'' former hospital (12th–19th c.) and the copper dome of its chapel
File:Le_Port_de_la_Daurade.jpg, ''Port de la Daurade'', a former river port converted into a recreational area
File:Toulouse rempart et dôme au jardin Raymond VI.jpg, Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, Raymond VI garden, at the foot of the last remains of the old Toulouse ramparts on the left bank
File:Canal du Midi Ramonville.jpg, ''Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
'' (17th c.)
File:Grand_Rond_(jardin).jpg, ''Grand rond'' park
File:Jardin_Japonais_de_Toulouse.jpg, Japanese garden
File:Ancienne_porte_du_Capitole_(Toulouse).jpg, Renaissance portal in ''Jardin des Plantes, Toulouse, Jardin des plantes''
File:Toulouse - Prairie des Filtres et Pont Neuf.jpg, ''Prairie des Filtres'' park
Museums and theme parks
Toulouse has many museums, the most important of which are:
* ''Musée des Augustins'' is the fine arts museum of Toulouse, it is located in the former Augustinian convent (Toulouse), Augustinian convent.
* Hôtel d'Assézat#Bemberg Foundation, Bemberg Foundation, housed in the Hôtel d'Assézat, presents to the public one of the major private collections of art in Europe.
* ''Musée Saint-Raymond'' is the archeological museum of Toulouse, located in a former college of the university it presents the ancient history of Toulouse and a very rich collection of Roman sculptures from the imperial Roman villa of Chiragan.
* ''Musée Paul Dupuy'' is the museum of Decorative Arts and Graphic Arts, including a very rich collection of clocks and watches.
* ''Georges Labit Museum, Musée Georges Labit'' is dedicated to artifacts from the Far-Eastern and Ancient Egyptian civilizations.
* ''Muséum de Toulouse'' is one of the most important natural history museums in France, housed in the former convent of the Discalced Carmelites.
* ''Les Abattoirs'' is the museum of modern and contemporary art of the city, opened in a former municipal slaughterhouse.
File:Augustins_-_Gargouilles_de_l'ancienne_église_des_Cordeliers.jpg, ''Musée des Augustins''
File:Augustins - Vierge à l'Enfant dite Notre-Dame de Grasse RA 788.jpg, ''Nostre Dame de Grasse'' at ''Musée des Augustins''
File:Bemberg Fondation Toulouse - Hercule à la cour d'Omphale - Lucas Cranach l'Ancien - 1537 Inv.1098.jpg, Painting of Lucas Cranach the Elder at Bemberg Foundation
File:Toulouse - St Raymond.jpg, ''Musée Saint-Raymond''
File:Musée Georges Labit.jpg, ''Georges Labit Museum''
File:Grand carré MHNT.jpg, ''Muséum de Toulouse''
File:Les abattoirs - Musée d'art moderne de Toulouse.jpg, ''Les Abattoirs''
File:Toulouse - Abattoirs - Picasso.jpg, Picasso at ''Les Abattoirs''
Toulouse also has several theme parks, notably highlighting its aeronautical and space heritage:
* ''Cité de l'espace'' is a scientific discovery centre focused on spaceflight.
* ''Aeroscopia'' is an aeronautical theme park located near Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, dedicated to the preservation of aeronautical historical heritage (it hosts for example two Concorde airliners).
* ''L'Envol des pionniers'' is a museum that traces the great adventure of l'Aéropostale (aviation), Aéropostale, a pioneering airmail company based in Toulouse which operated between France and South America from 1918 to 1933, and employed legendary pilots such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean Mermoz or Henri Guillaumet...
* ''Halle de La Machine'' is a vast hall that houses numerous small or giant animated machines, often inspired by the world of aeronautics, human or technological epics.
File:Ariane 5 at Cite de l'Espace 1.jpg, ''Cité de l'espace''
File:France Occitanie 31 Toulouse 04.jpg, ''Cité de l'espace''
File:Tarmac Nord Aeroscopia.jpg, ''Aeroscopia''
File:Replica Salmson 2 A.2 at Envol des pionniers.jpg, Replica Salmson 2, Salmson 2 A.2 at ''L'Envol des pionniers''
File:Piste des Géants et halle de la Machine.jpg, ''Halle de La Machine''
File:Minotaure 2.jpg, The giant Minotaur of the ''Halle de La Machine''
Economy
Since 2003, Toulouse has been the French city with the fastest growing GDP per capita, a performance driven by growing high-tech industries.
Toulouse economy can rely on three pillars: large industrial companies, research laboratories and a huge pool of students, engineers and scientists. Indeed, Toulouse is home to the second largest research and education centre in France, it has a high quality of education, first class engineering schools, powerful industries supported by world leaders, such as Airbus or Thales Alenia for aeronautics and space. This ecosystem fosters innovation in fields such as artificial intelligence, IOT, robotics, avionics, embedded systems, biotechnology, health etc.
Toulouse can particularly be described as the 'capital' of the European aerospace industry: it hosts the Airbus
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus Airbus A320, A320, Airbus A330, A330, and Airbus A350 XWB, A350. The Airbus A380, A380 was also produced here (the last completed in 2021), as was the Concorde supersonic aircraft.[Contacts]
." Airbus
Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...
. Retrieved 12 February 2010. Toulouse also hosts the headquarters of ATR ATR may refer to:
Medicine
* Acute transfusion reaction
* Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related, a protein involved in DNA damage repair
Science and mathematics
* Advanced Test Reactor, nuclear research reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory, ...
, one of the two headquarters of Liebherr Aerospace and Groupe Latécoère. As for the space industry, with 12,000 jobs, 400 companies and 25% of the European workforce, Toulouse is the main European hub.
Education
Toulouse has the fourth-largest student population in France after Paris, Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and Lille with 103,000 students (2012).
Colleges and universities
The University of Toulouse
The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...
(''Université de Toulouse'') was established in 1229 (now split into three separate universities). Like the universities in Oxford and Paris, the University of Toulouse was established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Arabs of Andalus and Greek philosophers. These writings challenged European ideology—inspiring scientific discoveries and advances in the arts—as society began seeing itself in a new way. These colleges were supported by the Church, in hopes of reconciling Greek philosophy and Christian theology.
* Catholic University of Toulouse
* Université Toulouse I, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse School of Management and Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse
* University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès (Formerly University of Toulouse II – Le Mirail)
* Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III)
Toulouse is also the home of Toulouse Business School (TBS), Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), the Institut supérieur européen de gestion group (ISEG Group), the Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action (ISEFAC), E-Artsup and several engineering schools:
* Institut catholique d'arts et métiers, ICAM Toulouse (Institut catholique d'arts et métiers)
* INSA Toulouse
* Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace, ISAE SUPAERO (Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace)
* École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile, ENAC (École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile)
* École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications, INP ENSEEIHT (École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications)
* École nationale supérieure de formation de l'enseignement agricole, ENSFEA (École nationale supérieure de formation de l'enseignement agricole)
* École nationale supérieure des ingénieurs en arts chimiques et technologiques, INP ENSIACET (École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs en art chimique et technologique)
* École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse, INP ENSAT (École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse)
* École nationale de la météorologie, INP ENM (École Nationale de la Météorologie)
* École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées, EPITA (École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées)
* École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies, EPITECH (École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies or ''European Institute of Information Technology'')
* Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées, IPSA (Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées)
* École d'ingénieurs de Purpan, EIPurpan (École d'ingénieurs de Purpan)
Primary and secondary schools
The most well known high schools in Toulouse are Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat and Lycée Saint-Sernin.
International schools serving area expatriates are in nearby Colomiers:
* International School of Toulouse
* Deutsche Schule Toulouse (German school)
Transport
Train
The main railway station, with regional and national services, is Toulouse-Matabiau station. In addition, there are several smaller stations in the city: Toulouse-Saint-Agne station, Toulouse-Saint-Agne, Gallieni-Cancéropôle station, Gallieni-Cancéropôle, Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes station, Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes, Le TOEC, Lardenne, Saint-Martin-du-Touch, Les Ramassiers, Montaudran and Lacourtensourt. The stations of Lalande-L'Eglise and Route-de-Launaguet were served until 2016.
Metro
All urban bus, metro and tram services are operated by Tisséo. In addition to an extensive bus system (145 lines), the Toulouse Metro is a Véhicule Automatique Léger, VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) rapid transit, metro system made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tyred underground, rubber-tyred trains:
* Line A runs for from Balma-Gramont in the north-east to Basso Cambo in the south-west.
* Line B, which opened in June 2007, serves 20 stations north to south and intersects line A at Jean Jaurès.
Line C is under construction for an opening in 2028 with 21 stations over 27 km. It will cross line B at 2 stations (La Vache and François Verdier) and will cross line A at Matabiau Gares (central train station)
Actual Line C has existed since line A was completed. It is not VAL but an urban railway line operated by SNCF. It connects to line A at Gare de Toulouse-Saint-Cyprien-Arènes, Arènes. Two other stations located in Toulouse are also served by line C. Lardenne, formerly named "Gare des Capelles", changed its name in September 2003 when line C opened. Le TOEC station opened on 1 September 2003 with the creation of line C, allowing an urban train service in Toulouse and close western suburbs. Since 2023, the service is now named ''Arènes-Colomiers'' train line to leave the name for the new metro line.
Similarly, Line D runs south from Gare de Toulouse Matabiau, Toulouse Matabiau to Muret.
Tramway
The Toulouse conurbation has Toulouse tramway, two tram lines:
* The tramway line T1, with 25 stations and 14.8 km long, has been in service since December 2010. It links Toulouse to the new MEETT Exhibition and Convention Centre in Beauzelle, via Blagnac.
* The tramway line T2, which connects Toulouse-Blagnac airport, is a branch of the first line. It is currently stopped to transform it into an airport express tram which will be connected to metro line C in 2028.
Cable car
Since 13 May 2022, the city of Toulouse has had a new mode of public transportation called Téléo. This is a cable car that links Paul-Sabatier University to Rangueil Hospital and the Oncopole de Toulouse, Oncopole (a major cancer research centre). It allows to fly over the Garonne and the hill of Pech David and, with its 3 kilometres, it is the longest urban cable car in France. It is presented as the first link in a public transport belt that is not radial and oriented towards the city centre, but designed to encircle the south of Toulouse.
Bicycle
In 2007, a citywide bicycle rental scheme called VélôToulouse was introduced, with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription.
Airports
Airports include:
* Toulouse Blagnac International Airport, Toulouse Blagnac: the principal local airport
* Toulouse Francazal: former principal airport, then former military airfield, its activity is nowadays reduced
* Toulouse-Lasbordes, Toulouse Lasbordes: this airfield is dedicated to leisure aviation and flying clubs
Canal
The Canal du Midi
The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (). Originally named the ''Canal Royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considered one of the g ...
begins in Toulouse and runs up to Sète.
Toulouse public transportation statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Toulouse on a weekday is 44 minutes. 9.1% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 9 minutes, while 10.4% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 8% travel for over in a single direction.
Communications
Toulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower, a lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission. In 2001 a optical fiber (symmetric 360 Gbit/s) network named ''Infrastructure Métropolitaine de Télécommunications'' was deployed around the city and suburbs.
Culture
The Théâtre du Capitole is the home of opera and ballet; there has been a theatre on the site since 1736. The Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National du Capitole, long associated with Michel Plasson, plays at the Halle aux Grains. On 31 October 2023, Toulouse was named City of Music (UNESCO), UNESCO City of Music.
Le château d'eau, pôle photographique de Toulouse, Le Château d'Eau, an old 19th-century water-tower, was converted as a gallery in 1974 by Jean Dieuzaide, a French photographer from Toulouse and is now one of the oldest public places dedicated to photography in the world. Toulouse's art museums include the Musée des Augustins, the Musée des Abattoirs, the Musée Georges Labit, and the Fondation Bemberg in the Hôtel d'Assézat. The Musée Saint-Raymond is devoted to Antiquity and the Muséum de Toulouse to natural history.
Toulouse is the seat of the Académie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitania, Occitan culture. The traditional Occitan cross, Cross of Toulouse (from Provence, under the name of cross of Provence), emblem of the County of Toulouse and commonly widespread around all of Occitania during the Middle Ages is the symbol of the city and of the newly founded Midi-Pyrénées ''région'', as well as a popular Occitan symbol.
The city's gastronomic specialties include the Saucisse de Toulouse, a type of sausage, ''cassoulet'' Toulousain, a bean and pork stew, and ''garbure'', a cabbage soup with poultry. Also, foie gras, the liver of an overfed duck or goose, is a delicacy commonly made in the Midi-Pyrénées.
Sport
Stade Toulousain of the Top 14 is the most successful rugby union clubs in Europe, having been crowned European Rugby Champions Cup, European champions six times and French champions twenty-three times.
Toulouse Olympique represents the city in rugby league. The club has been playing in the British rugby league system since 2016. They have been playing in the Super League, top tier in 2022 and played in the 2nd tier RFL Championship, Championship in 2023, after their relegation. The club has had historical success in France, having been crowned French champions six times.
The city also has a professional football team, Toulouse FC, which plays in Ligue 1, the highest level of football in France, and is the current holder of the Coupe de France, having won the 2023 Coupe de France final, 2023 final. The club plays at the Stadium Municipal, which was a venue during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup, as well as hosting important club rugby games and several Rugby League World Cups. Toulouse was also a host of EuroBasket 1999.
File:Stadium-Lory.jpg, The Stadium de Toulouse, municipal Stadium (capacity: 33,150)
File:Stade Ernest Wallon.jpg, Stade Ernest Wallon (capacity: 19,500)
File:Stade toulousain vs RC Toulon - 2012-09-29 - 48.jpg, Rugby union: Stade toulousain.
File:Offensive toulousaine, Toulouse, 6 mai 2018 (TFC - LOSC).jpg, Football: Toulouse Football Club.
File:TOteam.jpg, Rugby league: Toulouse Olympique.
File:TMB-2018-2019-Toulouse.jpg, Women's basketball: Toulouse Métropole Basket.
File:Fenix_Toulouse_20140831_-_Finale_Challenge_Marrane.jpg, Handball: Fenix Toulouse Handball.
File:Volley_Ball_-_2012-03-20_-_Spacers_Toulouse_vs_Rennes-13.jpg, Volleyball: Spacer's Toulouse Volley.
Notable people
Several notable Toulousains have been scientists, such as Jean Dausset (1916–2009), 1980 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; 17th-century mathematician Pierre de Fermat (1607–1665), who spent his life in Toulouse, where he wrote Fermat's Last Theorem and was a lawyer in the city's parlement
Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
; Paul Sabatier (chemist), Paul Sabatier (1854–1941), 1912 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Albert Fert (b. 1938), 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics who grew up in Toulouse where he attended the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat and Jean Tirole (b. 1953), owner of the 2014 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, chairman and founder of the Toulouse School of Economics along with Jean-Jacques Laffont.
Musically, Toulouse is one of the two controversial, disputed birthplaces of Carlos Gardel (1890–1935) (the other being Tacuarembo, Uruguay), probably the most prominent figure in the history of the tango. The city's most renowned songwriter is Claude Nougaro (1929-2004). The composer and organist Georges Guiraud (1868–1928) and songwriter Jain (singer), Jain (b. 1992) were born in Toulouse.
Concerning arts, Toulouse is the birthplace of Impressionist painter Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin, Henri Martin (1860–1943) as well as sculptors Alexandre Falguière (1831–1900), Antonin Mercié (1845–1916) and illustrator Edmund Dulac (1882–1953). Moreover, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867) and Antoine Bourdelle (1861–1929) were trained at the Toulouse fine arts school. Post Impressionist painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's (1864–1901) father was Count Alphonse Charles de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa (1838–1913) and was part of an aristocratic family of Counts of Toulouse, Odet de Foix, Vimcomte de Lautrec and the Viscounts of Montfa.
Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse
Raymond of Saint-Gilles ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), also called Raymond IV of Toulouse or Raymond I of Tripoli, was the count of Toulouse, duke of Narbonne, and margrave of Provence from 1094, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 10 ...
(–1105), one of the leaders of the First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...
, was born in Toulouse. Aviation pioneer Clément Ader (1841–1925), acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870) who gave his name to the leotard, and psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol (1772–1840) were also natives. French football legend Just Fontaine (1933–2023), record holder for the most goals in a single FIFA World Cup (thirteen in six games in 1958), lived in Toulouse for the last 60 years of his life. Léon Marchand (b. 2002), swimmer and four-time Olympic gold medalist grew up in Toulouse where he attended Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University.
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Toulouse is twinned with:
* Atlanta, United States, since 1975
* Bologna, Italy, since 1981
* Elche, Spain, since 1981
* Chongqing, China, since 1981
* Kyiv, Ukraine, since 1975
* Tel Aviv, Israel, since 1962
Other cooperations
Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:
* Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain
* N'Djamena, Chad
* Hanoi, Vietnam
* Saint-Louis, Senegal, Saint-Louis, Senegal
* Düsseldorf, Germany
* Kfardebian, Lebanon
See also
* 138 Tolosa, an asteroid
* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse
* André Abbal
* Listing of the works of Alexandre Falguière
* The works of Antonin Mercié
* List of the mayors of Toulouse
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Toulouse tourist office
*
– About-France.com
Toulouse: pink, violets, red and black
– Official French website
Official site
{{authority control
Toulouse,
Cities in France
Communes of Haute-Garonne
Languedoc
Cities in Occitania (administrative region)
Midi-Pyrénées
Prefectures in France
Populated places established in the 2nd century BC