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Toulouse

December 01, 2023

For other uses, see Toulouse (disambiguation).

Toulouse (/tuːˈluːz/ too-LOOZ,[7] French: [tuluz] ⓘ; Occitan: Tolosa [tuˈluzɔ]) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the Mediterranean Sea, 230 km (143 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean and 680 km (420 mi) from Paris. It is the fourth-largest city in France after Paris, Marseille and Lyon, with 500,000 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries (2020 census);[8] its metropolitan area has a population of 1.5 million inhabitants (2020 census).[6] 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.[9]

Toulouse
Tolosa (Occitan)
Prefecture and commune
View of Old Toulouse, Ariane 5 (Cité de l'espace), Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Place du Capitole, the first Airbus A380, Musée des Augustins, Hôtel d'Assézat, Church of the Jacobins
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Per Tolosa totjorn mai
(Occitan for 'For Toulouse, always more')
Location of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse
Coordinates: 43°36′16″N 1°26′38″E / 43.6045°N 1.444°E / 43.6045; 1.444
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
DepartmentHaute-Garonne
ArrondissementToulouse
Canton(11 cantons) Toulouse-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11
IntercommunalityToulouse Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Luc Moudenc[1] (LR)
Area
1
118.3 km2 (45.7 sq mi)
 • Urban
 (2020[2])
957.5 km2 (369.7 sq mi)
 • Metro
 (2020[3])
6,520.2 km2 (2,517.5 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[4]
498,003
 • Rank4th in France
 • Density4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
 (Jan. 2020[5])
1,047,829
 • Urban density1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
 • Metro
 (Jan. 2020[6])
1,470,899
 • Metro density230/km2 (580/sq mi)
Demonym(s)English: Toulousian
French: Toulousain(e)
Occitan: tolosenc(a)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
31555 /
Websitewww.toulouse.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus, the SPOT satellite system, ATR and the Aerospace Valley. It hosts the CNES's Toulouse Space Centre (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.[10][11] Thales Alenia Space, ATR, SAFRAN, Liebherr-Aerospace and Airbus Defence and Space 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.[12] According to the rankings of L'Express and Challenges, Toulouse is the most dynamic French city.[13][14][15]

Founded by the Romans, the city was the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom in the 5th century and the capital of the province of Languedoc in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution), making it the unofficial capital of the cultural region of Occitania (Southern France). It is now the capital of the region of Occitania, the second largest region in Metropolitan France.

The University of Toulouse 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.[16]

Toulouse counts three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Canal du Midi (designated in 1996 and shared with other cities), and the Basilica of St. Sernin, the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe,[17] 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 bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname La Ville rose ("The Pink city").[18][19]

Geography edit

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 100 km from the Pyrenees and the borders with Andorra and Spain.

 
View of the Pyrenees from Toulouse (at a distance of 100 kilometers, the mountains are not visible most of the time)

Hydrography edit

The city is traversed by the Canal de Brienne, the Canal du Midi, the Canal de Garonne and the rivers Garonne, Touch and Hers-Mort.

 
View of the Garonne in Toulouse

Climate edit

Toulouse has a four-season humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification). Too much precipitation during the summer months prevents the city from being classified in the Mediterranean climate zone.

Climate data for Toulouse (TLS), elevation: 151 m (495 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1947–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 21.2
(70.2) 		24.1
(75.4) 		27.1
(80.8) 		30.0
(86.0) 		34.4
(93.9) 		40.2
(104.4) 		40.2
(104.4) 		42.4
(108.3) 		35.3
(95.5) 		31.8
(89.2) 		24.3
(75.7) 		21.1
(70.0) 		42.4
(108.3)
Average high °C (°F) 9.7
(49.5) 		11.2
(52.2) 		15.0
(59.0) 		17.6
(63.7) 		21.4
(70.5) 		25.7
(78.3) 		28.2
(82.8) 		28.5
(83.3) 		24.8
(76.6) 		19.7
(67.5) 		13.5
(56.3) 		10.4
(50.7) 		18.8
(65.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.3
(43.3) 		7.1
(44.8) 		10.3
(50.5) 		12.7
(54.9) 		16.4
(61.5) 		20.3
(68.5) 		22.6
(72.7) 		22.8
(73.0) 		19.3
(66.7) 		15.3
(59.5) 		9.9
(49.8) 		7.0
(44.6) 		14.2
(57.6)
Average low °C (°F) 2.9
(37.2) 		3.1
(37.6) 		5.5
(41.9) 		7.9
(46.2) 		11.4
(52.5) 		15.0
(59.0) 		17.0
(62.6) 		17.1
(62.8) 		13.9
(57.0) 		10.9
(51.6) 		6.3
(43.3) 		3.6
(38.5) 		9.6
(49.3)
Record low °C (°F) −18.6
(−1.5) 		−19.2
(−2.6) 		−8.4
(16.9) 		−3.0
(26.6) 		−0.8
(30.6) 		4.0
(39.2) 		7.6
(45.7) 		5.5
(41.9) 		1.9
(35.4) 		−3.0
(26.6) 		−7.5
(18.5) 		−12.0
(10.4) 		−19.2
(−2.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 52.5
(2.07) 		37.2
(1.46) 		45.3
(1.78) 		65.2
(2.57) 		73.6
(2.90) 		64.2
(2.53) 		40.1
(1.58) 		44.6
(1.76) 		45.7
(1.80) 		54.3
(2.14) 		55.0
(2.17) 		49.3
(1.94) 		627.0
(24.69)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.2 7.8 8.2 9.3 9.9 7.1 5.7 5.9 6.6 7.5 10.0 8.7 95.8
Average snowy days 1.8 2.0 0.5 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.2 6.1
Average relative humidity (%) 87 82 77 76 76 72 68 71 74 81 85 88 78
Mean monthly sunshine hours 89.1 118.2 175.3 188.5 212.3 231.8 258.6 246.4 210.1 155.2 99.9 89.7 2,075.1
Source 1: Meteo France[20]
Source 2: Infoclimat.fr (relative humidity 1961–1990)[21]
Climate data for Toulouse–Francazal, elevation: 164 m (538 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1922–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.3
(73.9) 		24.8
(76.6) 		28.3
(82.9) 		29.9
(85.8) 		33.9
(93.0) 		39.6
(103.3) 		40.2
(104.4) 		44.0
(111.2) 		36.0
(96.8) 		35.4
(95.7) 		27.0
(80.6) 		26.9
(80.4) 		44.0
(111.2)
Average high °C (°F) 9.9
(49.8) 		11.3
(52.3) 		15.0
(59.0) 		17.6
(63.7) 		21.3
(70.3) 		25.5
(77.9) 		28.1
(82.6) 		28.6
(83.5) 		24.8
(76.6) 		19.8
(67.6) 		13.7
(56.7) 		10.7
(51.3) 		18.9
(66.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.5
(43.7) 		7.3
(45.1) 		10.3
(50.5) 		12.8
(55.0) 		16.5
(61.7) 		20.3
(68.5) 		22.6
(72.7) 		22.8
(73.0) 		19.4
(66.9) 		15.4
(59.7) 		10.0
(50.0) 		7.2
(45.0) 		14.3
(57.7)
Average low °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6) 		3.2
(37.8) 		5.7
(42.3) 		8.0
(46.4) 		11.6
(52.9) 		15.1
(59.2) 		17.0
(62.6) 		17.1
(62.8) 		13.9
(57.0) 		11.0
(51.8) 		6.4
(43.5) 		3.8
(38.8) 		9.7
(49.5)
Record low °C (°F) −19.0
(−2.2) 		−16.7
(1.9) 		−7.4
(18.7) 		−4.1
(24.6) 		0.1
(32.2) 		4.5
(40.1) 		7.0
(44.6) 		7.3
(45.1) 		0.0
(32.0) 		−2.6
(27.3) 		−8.5
(16.7) 		−13.4
(7.9) 		−19.0
(−2.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 56.4
(2.22) 		38.8
(1.53) 		43.7
(1.72) 		65.2
(2.57) 		74.7
(2.94) 		59.2
(2.33) 		42.5
(1.67) 		42.6
(1.68) 		50.5
(1.99) 		52.4
(2.06) 		58.2
(2.29) 		51.5
(2.03) 		635.7
(25.03)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 8.8 7.6 8.1 9.5 9.5 7.1 5.6 6.0 6.4 7.7 9.6 9.0 94.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 93.1 116.6 173.6 186.7 207.5 224.8 246.8 234.9 202.5 147.9 94.9 85.4 2,014.5
Source: Meteo France (sun 1991–2010)[22]

History edit

Main articles: History of Toulouse and Timeline of Toulouse
 
The remains of the Roman wall in Toulouse illustrate the early use of brick and stone in construction.
 
The martyrdom of Saint Saturnin
 
In the 5th century, Toulouse was the capital of a vast Visigothic Kingdom that stretched from the Loire to Gibraltar.

Early history edit

The Garonne Valley was a central point for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the Iron Age. The historical name of the city, Tolosa (Τολῶσσα in Greek, and of its inhabitants, the Tolosates, first recorded in the 2nd century BC), is of unknown meaning or origin, possibly from Aquitanian or Iberian,[23] but it has also been connected to the name of the Gaulish Volcae Tectosages,[24] or to the same root as Irish tulach or Welsh twlch, (little hill).

Toulouse refounded by the Romans on the banks of the Garonne edit

Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC, when it became a Roman military outpost. After the conquest of Gaul, it was developed as a Roman city in Gallia Narbonensis. Under the reign of Emperor Augustus and thanks to the Pax Romana, the Romans moved the city a few kilometres from the hills where it was an oppidum to the banks of the Garonne, which were more suitable for trade.[25]

In the second half of the 1st century, the emperor Domitian distinguished Toulouse by placing it under the patronage of the goddess Pallas Athena, so that the Latin poets Martial, Ausonius and Sidonius Apollinaris 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.[25]

Around the year 250, Toulouse was marked by the martyrdom of Saturnin, the first bishop of Toulouse. This episode illustrates the difficult beginnings of Christianity in Roman Gaul.[25]

Capital of the Visigothic kingdom edit

In the 5th century, Toulouse fell to the Visigothic kingdom and became one of its major cities, even serving as its capital, before it fell to the Franks under Clovis in 507 (Battle of Vouillé).[25] From that time, Toulouse was the capital of Aquitaine within the Frankish realm.[26]

Under Frankish rule edit

In 721, Duke Odo of Aquitaine defeated an invading Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse. Many Arab chroniclers consider that Odo's victory was the real stop to Muslim expansion into Christian Europe, incursions of the following years being simple raids without real will of conquest (including the one that ended with Charles Martel's victory at the Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers).[27][25]

The Frankish conquest of Septimania followed in the 750s, and a quasi-independent County of Toulouse emerged within the Carolingian sub-kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century. The Battle of Toulouse of 844, pitting Charles the Bald against Pepin II of Aquitaine, was key in the Carolingian Civil War.[25]

County of Toulouse edit

Further information: County of Toulouse
 
Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse was a leader of the First Crusade.
 
St Dominic's room at Maison Seilhan is considered the birthplace of the Dominican Order.
 
Burial of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the church of the Jacobins in Toulouse
 
Over nearly 5 centuries the capitouls (the municipal consuls) held an exceptional collection of their portraits in the municipal annals.
 
Painting representing the first session of the poetry contest of the Consistori del Gay Saber (later known as the Academy of the Floral Games), the oldest literary society in Europe
 
The Parliament of Toulouse was the second most important and oldest in the kingdom after that of Paris, making Toulouse the judicial capital of a large part of southern France.
 
The woad trade, which was the only source of blue dye at the time in Europe, made the fortune of the merchants of Toulouse during the Renaissance.
 
1650 - Toulouse, capital of Languedoc
 
The vast Hall of the Illustrious (Salle des Illustres) in the Capitole presents numerous paintings and sculptures illustrating the history 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 who wrote their poetry in Occitan (called "Provençal" at the time), then one of the most sophisticated languages in Europe. Like the other great lords of the Midi, the counts of Toulouse maintained and favoured these poets, this is how Count Raymond V employed for some time the famous Bernard de Ventadour, expert in singing courtly love.[28]

In 1096, Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, left with his army at the call of the Pope Urban II to join the First Crusade, of which he was one of the main leaders.[25][29] This exodus of its warriors and nobles, reinforced by the creation of the faraway County of Tripoli 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 challenged the possession of the city on the grounds that it should have been inherited by his wife Philippa (daughter of the previous count of Toulouse, whereas Raymond IV was only his brother). More than 50 years later his granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine still claimed the inheritance in vain.[25]

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 capitouls 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.[25] 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 was the first recorded European joint-stock company.

The fight against Catharism and its various aspects edit

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 in the south of France, which the Pope Innocent III wanted to eradicate by all possible means.[25]

After an initial victory of the crusaders led by Simon de Montfort who defeated the combined forces of Count Raymond VI of Toulouse and King Peter II of Aragon, 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 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.[25]

But beyond the military crusade, this struggle took on several important aspects for the city of Toulouse:

  •  The Dominican Order was founded in Toulouse by Saint Dominic 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 which, within a few decades, would cover Europe with hundreds of convents: The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans.[25]
  • 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.[25]
  • 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, a younger brother of Louis IX of France. The marriage became legal in 1241, but it remained childless and so after Joan's death, the county fell to the Crown of France by inheritance.[25]
  • Another consequence of the Treaty of Paris was the creation of the University of Toulouse, established on the Parisian model, strongly sponsored by the pope and intended as a means to dissolve the heretic movement.[30][25]
  • Also in 1229, the Council of Toulouse was held, which laid the foundations for the long period of Inquisition that was to eradicate Catharism in the region after the military victory of the Crusade.[25]

Kingdom of France edit

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, no longer had a count and was annexed to the royal domain.[25] 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.[25]

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 against Toulouse's Jewish population in 1320.[25][31] In 1335, Toulouse had between 35,000 and 40,000 inhabitants.[25]

In 1323 the Consistori del Gay Saber was created in Toulouse to preserve the lyric art of the troubadours by organizing a poetry contest; and Toulouse became the centre of Occitan 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 on grammar and rhetoric of the Middle Ages, and in 1694 it was transformed into the Royal Academy of the Floral Games (Académie des Jeux Floraux), still active today, by king Louis XIV.[25]

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, Innocent VI and Urban V. These powerful prelates financed the establishment of colleges in the university towns of southern France, not only Toulouse but also Montpellier, Cahors and Avignon.[32]

The Black Death in 1348, then the Hundred Years' War caused a major crisis that lasted until the following century.[25] Despite strong immigration, the population lost more than 10,000 inhabitants in 70 years. By 1405 Toulouse had only 19,000 people.[33] 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.[25]

In 1369 pope Urban V attributed to the Dominican church of the Jacobins of Toulouse the bones of the Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas, perhaps to honor the city that had been the cradle of the Dominican order at the beginning of the previous century.[25]

The political and economic situation improved by the middle of the 15th century.[34] In 1443 King Charles VII established the second parliament 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 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 .[35]

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.[25]

In the 16th century, and until 1562, the economy of Toulouse experienced a golden age: its Parliament 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 parliament, 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.[36][25]

In 1562 the French Wars of Religion began and Toulouse became an ultra-Catholic stronghold in a predominantly Protestant region, the era of economic prosperity came to an end. The governor of Languedoc, Henri II de Montmorency, who had rebelled, was executed in 1632 in the Capitole in the presence of King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu.[25]

In 1666 Pierre-Paul Riquet started the construction of the Canal du Midi 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.[25]

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.[37][25] A famous example illustrates this backwardness of Toulouse mentalities of the time: in 1762 its powerful parliament sentenced Jean Calas to death. The philosopher Voltaire then accused the Parliament of Toulouse of religious intolerance (Calas was a Protestant), gave the affair a European repercussion and succeeded in having the judgment of the parliament quashed by the King's Council, which did much damage to the reputation of the parliament. 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 parliament ruling over an even larger territory, the city then found itself simply at the head of the single small department of Haute-Garonne.[25]

19th century edit

On 10 April 1814, four days after Napoleon's surrender of the 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 pitted the Hispanic-British troops of Field Marshal Wellington against the French troops of Napoleonic Marshal 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.[38]

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.[39]

20th and 21st centuries edit

 
The epic of l'Aéropostale has written some of the most beautiful pages in the history of aviation in Toulouse.

World War I brought to Toulouse (geographically sheltered from enemy attacks) chemical industries as well as aviation workshops (Latécoère, Dewoitine), which launched the city's aeronautical construction tradition and gave birth after the war to the famous 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).[40][41]

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, French repatriates from Algeria swelled the city's population.[41]

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.[41]

On 21 September 2001, an 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 80 km (50 mi) away.[41][42]

In 2016 a territorial reform made Toulouse the regional prefecture of 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.[41]

Population edit

Historical population[43][44]
Urban Area Metropolitan
Area
1695 43,000
1750 48,000
1790 52,863
1801 50,171
1831 59,630
1851 95,277
1872 126,936
1911 149,000
1936 213,220
1946 264,411
1954 268,865
1962 329,044
1968 489,293 687,804
1975 570,217 776,960
1982 601,576 827,714
1990 683,436 935,009
1999 782,296 1,062,974
2007 888,479 1,235,746
2012 940,016 1,322,271
2017 1,004,747 1,414,936
2020 1,047,829 1,470,899

The population of the city proper (French: commune) was 498,003 at the January 2020 census, with 1,470,899 inhabitants in the metropolitan area,[6] up from 1,268,438 at the January 2009 census.[45] Thus, the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of +1.36% per year between 2009 and 2020, 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, Marseille and Lyon, and the fifth most populated metropolitan area after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille.

Historical population of the commune of Toulouse
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 52,612—    
1800 50,171−0.68%
1806 51,689+0.50%
1821 52,328+0.08%
1831 59,639+1.32%
1836 77,372+5.04%
1841 90,368+3.15%
1846 94,227+0.83%
1851 96,564+0.49%
1856 103,144+1.39%
1861 113,714+1.94%
1866 126,936+2.22%
1872 124,852−0.28%
1876 131,642+1.18%
1881 140,289+1.24%
1886 147,617+1.13%
1891 149,791+0.30%
1896 149,963+0.02%
1901 149,841−0.02%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 149,438−0.05%
1911 149,576+0.02%
1921 175,434+1.61%
1926 180,771+0.60%
1931 194,564+1.48%
1936 213,220+1.85%
1946 264,411+2.18%
1954 268,863+0.20%
1962 323,724+2.40%
1968 370,796+2.29%
1975 373,796+0.12%
1982 347,995−1.01%
1990 358,688+0.38%
1999 390,350+0.94%
2007 439,453+1.53%
2012 453,317+0.62%
2017 479,553+1.13%
2020 498,003+1.27%
Source: EHESS[46] and INSEE[47][48]

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 1,470,899 inhabitants in January 2020, 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.

A local Jewish group estimates there are about 2,500 Jewish families in Toulouse.[49] A Muslim association has estimated there are some 35,000 Muslims in town.[50]

Government and politics edit

Toulouse Métropole edit

 
Former tower of the city archives and meeting place of the capitouls, 1525-1530
Main article: 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 380 km2 (147 sq mi), 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.[51]

Local politics edit

 
Toulouse's city hall, the Capitole de Toulouse, and the square of the same name with the Occitan cross designed by Raymond Moretti on the ground
 
Coats of arms of Toulouse: Saint-Sernin church and Comtal castle frame a paschal lamb bearing the Toulouse cross
 
Jean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse

One of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis, the mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001, member of the centrist UDF.[52] 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 operations), as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city. The Occitan cross, flag of Languedoc 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 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 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 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 Green Party.[53]

In 2000, Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity, with approval rates of 85%.[citation needed] 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 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 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 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 edit

Mayor Term start Term end   Party
Raymond Badiou 1944 September 1958 SFIO
G. Carrère September 1958 16 October 1958 SFIO
Louis Bazerque 16 October 1958 1971 SFIO
Pierre Baudis March 1971 March 1983 UDF
Dominique Baudis March 1983 23 January 2001 UDF
Guy Hersant 23 January 2001 23 March 2001 UDF
Philippe Douste-Blazy 23 March 2001 30 April 2004 UDF
Françoise de Veyrinas 30 April 2004 6 May 2004 UMP
Jean-Luc Moudenc 6 May 2004 17 March 2008 UMP
Pierre Cohen 17 March 2008 4 April 2014 PS
Jean-Luc Moudenc 4 April 2014 incumbent UMP

Sights and architecture edit

 
Format differences between a "foraine" brick and a regular brick

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.) edit

 
Remains of a Romanesque brick wall in the Jardin des Plantes

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 edit

Basilica of Saint-Sernin, part of the 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 churches in Europe.[note 1] With more than two hundred relics (including that of 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.[54]

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.[55]

  • Basilica of Saint-Sernin
  •  

    Basilica of Saint-Sernin

  •  

    The east side is the oldest part.

  •  

    Romanesque tympanum of Miègeville gate (late 11th c. or early 12th c.)

  •  

    Romanesque sculptures

  •  

    The central nave of the church

  •  

    Romanesque paintings

Gothic architecture (13th c.-early 16th c.) edit

Southern French Gothic: a militant religious architecture edit

See also: Southern French Gothic

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 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 convents of the city, before spreading in the 14th century to a large number of churches and cathedrals in the region.[56]

Several churches or convents in Toulouse belong to this architectural trend, but two of them are particularly symbolic and remarkable:

  • 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.
  • 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.[57] 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).[55] 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.[57] Because he thought that the bones of Saint Thomas Aquinas deserved «the most beautiful and most splendid surroundings»,[55] 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.
  • Southern French Gothic religious architecture
  •  

    Toulouse cathedral

  •  

    Southern French Gothic nave and northern Gothic choir

  •  

    Church of the Jacobins, exterior (13th c.)

  •  

    The vault of the Jacobins and its famous palm tree

  •  

    Cloister (14th c.) and bell tower (1298) of the Jacobins

  •  

    Augustinian Convent (14th c.)

  •  

    Wall belfry of Notre-Dame du Taur (14th c.)

Gothic civil architecture edit

Toulouse has preserved about thirty Gothic stair towers (plus a dozen Renaissance or later towers),[58] the remains of private mansions (called 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, the brick construction of these towers and hôtels also testifies to their quality.

  • Gothic civil architecture
  •  

    Séguy tower, 1477

  •  

    Boysson tower, 1478

  •  

    Delfau tower, 1497

  •  

    Lancefoc tower (late 15th c.) and Serta tower (1529)

  •  

    Olmières tower, 1503

  •  

    Bernuy tower, 1504

  •  

    Bruni tower, 1510

  •  

    Beringuier Bonnefoy tower, 1513

  •  

    Serta tower, 1529

  •  

    Door of the Hotel Delfau

  •  

    Door of the Hotel de Bernuy

Renaissance architecture (16th c.-early 17th c.) edit

Main article: Renaissance architecture of Toulouse

In the 16th century, Toulouse experienced a golden age coinciding with the Renaissance in France. The woad trade (pastel) brought merchants of international stature to the city, and the Parliament 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 Serlio, Alberti or Vitruvius, but also by the royal castles of the Loire Valley and the Île-de-France.[36]

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 Assézat, Bernuy, Vieux-Raisin or Clary...[36]

  • Renaissance private mansions
  •  

    Classical facades of hôtel d'Assézat

  •  

    Hôtel d'Assézat

  •  

    Low vault of hôtel de Bernuy

  •  

    Renaissance windows at hôtel du Vieux-Raisin

  •  

    The hôtel de Clary and its Mannerist decoration

  •  

    The tower of the Hôtel de Brucelles

  • Sample of Renaissance doors
  •  

    Door of hôtel du Vieux-Raisin

  •  

    Portal of hôtel d'Assézat

  •  

    Door of hôtel d'Assézat

  •  

    Door of hôtel d'Assézat

  •  

    Portal of hôtel Molinier

  •  

    Portal of a former college of the university

  •  

    Portal of Dalbade church

  •  

    Door of hôtel de Bagis

  •  

    Triumphal portal of the Capitole

17th century architecture edit

17th century religious architecture edit

The French Wars of Religion, 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 Order of Carthusians, expelled by the Protestants 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 blue penitents founded the church of Saint-Jérôme and the order of Carmelite nuns created a convent of which a remarkable painted chapel remains.

  • 17th c. religious architecture
  •  

    Church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux

  •  

    Church of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux

  •  

    Portal of Saint-Pierre des Chartreux

  •  

    Church of Saint-Exupère

  •  

    Church of Saint-Exupère (detail of the facade)

  •  

    Church of Saint-Exupère

  •  

    Chapel of the Carmelites, painted decoration

17th century civil architecture edit

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 parliament.[59]

  • 17th c. civil architecture
  •  

    Hôtel de Caulet

  •  

    Hôtel Comère

  •  

    Hôtel d'Avizard

  •  

    Hôtel Saint-Jean (courtyard), former Grand Priory of Knights Hospitaller

  •  

    Henri IV courtyard of the Capitole: brick and stone.

  •  

    Portal of hôtel de Chalvet

  •  

    Portal of hôtel d'Orbessan

  •  

    Portal of hôtel Desplats (courtyard)

18th century architecture edit

In the 18th century Toulouse made its living from its Parliament and from the wheat and corn trade, which was boosted by the creation of the Canal du Midi 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.

  • 18th century architecture
  •  

    Capitole - city hall

  •  

    Hôtel d'Espie

  •  

    Portal of hôtel d'Espie

  •  

    Hôtel de Bonfontan

  •  

    Basilica of la Daurade

19th century architecture edit

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.

  • 19th century architecture
  •  

    Place du Capitole, the main square of Toulouse (19th c.)

  •  

    Place du Capitole (Café Bibent)

  •  

    Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.)

  •  

    Facade with moulded terracotta decorations (19th c.)

  •  

    Yellow brick of Alsace-Lorraine street (19th c.)

20th and 21st centuries architecture edit

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.

  • 20th and 21st centuries architecture
  •  

    Toulouse-Matabiau station, 1905

  •  

    Art nouveau facade, Gambetta street (early 20th c.)

  •  

    Art Deco facade, Alsace-Lorraine street (c. 1930)

  •  

    Seat of the departmental council (1999), by the architect Robert Venturi, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1991

  •  

    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 edit

 
Numerous parks and green spaces line the Garonne in the heart of Toulouse.

The banks of the 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 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 river, in the 12th century the Bazacle Milling Company 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 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 in 1996.

The 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.

  • Banks of the Garonne, Canal du Midi, parks
  •  

    Pont-Neuf (16th-17th c.)

  •  

    Red brick dykes from the 18th century

  •  

    Quays of the Garonne and Pont-Neuf

  •  

    Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques former hospital (12th–19th c.)

  •  

    La Grave former hospital (12th–19th c.) and the copper dome of its chapel

  •  

    Port de la Daurade, a former river port converted into a recreational area

  •  

    Raymond VI garden, at the foot of the last remains of the old Toulouse ramparts on the left bank

  •  

    Canal du Midi (17th c.)

  •  

    Grand rond park

  •  

    Japanese garden

  •  

    Renaissance portal in Jardin des plantes

Museums and theme parks edit

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Toulouse also has several theme parks, notably highlighting its aeronautical and space heritage:

Economy edit

Main article: Economy of Toulouse
 
The main Airbus factory in Blagnac, near Toulouse, lies next to Toulouse Airport

Since 2003, Toulouse has been the French city with the fastest growing GDP per capita, a performance driven by growing high-tech industries.[60]

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.[61]

Toulouse can particularly be described as the 'capital' of the European aerospace industry: it hosts the Airbus headquarters and assembly-lines of Airbus A320, A330, and A350. The A380 was also produced here (the last completed in 2021), as was the Concorde supersonic aircraft.[62][63] Toulouse also hosts the headquarters of ATR, 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.[64]

Education edit

 
Portal of the college de l'Esquile (1556), a symbol of the university's seniority

Toulouse has the fourth-largest student population in France after Paris, Lyon and Lille with 103,000 students (2012).

Colleges and universities edit

 
A historic building of the University of Toulouse
 
New building of Toulouse School of Economics
 
ENAC entrance

The University of Toulouse (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.[citation needed]

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:

  • ICAM Toulouse (Institut catholique d'arts et métiers)
  • INSA Toulouse
  • ISAE SUPAERO (Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace)
  • ENAC (École Nationale de l'Aviation Civile)
  • INP ENSEEIHT (École Nationale Supérieure d'Électronique, d'Électrotechnique, d'Informatique, d'Hydraulique et des Télécommunications)
  • ENSFEA (École nationale supérieure de formation de l'enseignement agricole)
  • INP ENSIACET (École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs en art chimique et technologique)
  • INP ENSAT (École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse)
  • INP ENM (École Nationale de la Météorologie)
  • EPITA (École pour l'informatique et les techniques avancées)
  • EPITECH (École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies or European Institute of Information Technology)
  • IPSA (Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées)
  • EIPurpan (École d'ingénieurs de Purpan)

Primary and secondary schools edit

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:

Transport edit

 
Line A of the Toulouse Metro
 
Téléo, the cable car of Toulouse
 
Toulouse public transport map that shows metro lines, tram lines and the high-level bus network called Lineo

Train edit

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, Gallieni-Cancéropôle, 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 edit

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 VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger) metro system made up of driverless (automatic) rubber-tired trains:

  • Line A runs for 12.5 km (7.8 mi) 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 27km. 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 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. [65] 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.[65] Since 2023, the service is now named Arènes-Colomiers train line to leave the name for the new metro line.[66]

Similarly, Line D runs south from Toulouse Matabiau to Muret.

Tramway edit

The Toulouse conurbation has two tram lines:

  • The tramway line T1, with 25 stations and 14.8km 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 edit

Since May 13, 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 (a major cancer research center). It allows to fly over the Garonne and the hill of Pech David and, with its 3 kilometers, 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 center, but designed to encircle the south of Toulouse.

Bicycle edit

In 2007, a citywide bicycle rental scheme called VélôToulouse was introduced,[67] with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly subscription.

Airports edit

Airports include:

  • Toulouse Blagnac: the principal local airport
  • Toulouse Francazal: former principal airport, then former military airfield, its activity is nowadays reduced
  • Toulouse Lasbordes: this airfield is dedicated to leisure aviation and flying clubs

Canal edit

The Canal du Midi begins in Toulouse and runs up to Sète.

Toulouse public transportation statistics edit

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Toulouse, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 44 min. 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 min, 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 7 km, while 8% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[68]

Communications edit

Toulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower, a 61-metre high lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission.[69] In 2001 a large (100 km) optical fiber (symmetric 360Gbit/s) network named Infrastructure Métropolitaine de Télécommunications was deployed around the city and suburbs.[70]

Culture edit

 
The Halle aux grains, a former grain market now used as a concert hall

The Théâtre du Capitole is the home of opera and ballet; there has been a theatre on the site since 1736.[71] The Orchestre National du Capitole, long associated with Michel Plasson, plays at the Halle aux Grains.[72] On 31 October 2023, Toulouse was named UNESCO City of Music.[73]

Le Château d'Eau,[74] 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 Occitan culture. The traditional 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.[75]

Sport edit

Stade Toulousain of the Top 14 is one of the most successful rugby union clubs in Europe, having been crowned European champions five times and French champions twenty-two times.[76][77]

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 top tier in 2022 and played in the 2nd tier 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 final.[a] 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.


  1. ^ An unrelated club, also based in the city and named Toulouse FC but now defunct, won the 1957 final.

Notable people edit

Main category: People from Toulouse
 
Bust of mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the Capitole de Toulouse

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; Paul Sabatier (1854-1941), 1912 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Albert Fert (b. 1938),[78] 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 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 (b. 1992) were born in Toulouse.

Concerning arts, Toulouse is the birthplace of Impressionist painter 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 (c. 1041 – 1105), one of the leaders of the First Crusade, 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.[79]

International relations edit

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns and sister cities edit

Toulouse is twinned with:[80]

Other cooperations edit

Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns:[81]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ 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.

References edit

Citations edit

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Sources edit

  • Le Stang, Anne (2006). Histoire de Toulouse illustrée (in French). leperegrinateurediteur.com. ISBN 2-910352-44-7.
  • Kerrison, Helen & Jeremy (2008). The Practical Guide to Toulouse. leperegrinateurediteur.com. ISBN 978-2-910352-46-2.
  • Olivier, Jean-Marc (2019). Histoire de Toulouse et de la métropole (in French). Privat. ISBN 978-2-7089-8379-3.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toulouse.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Toulouse.
  • Toulouse tourist office
  • ToulouseCity.com 10 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  • Toulouse city guide – About-France.com
  • – Official French website
  • Official site (in French)

December 01, 2023
toulouse, other, uses, disambiguation, looz, french, tuluz, occitan, tolosa, tuˈluzɔ, prefecture, french, department, haute, garonne, larger, region, occitania, city, banks, river, garonne, kilometres, miles, from, mediterranean, from, atlantic, ocean, from, p. For other uses see Toulouse disambiguation Toulouse t uː ˈ l uː z too LOOZ 7 French tuluz Occitan Tolosa tuˈluzɔ is the prefecture of the French department of Haute Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania The city is on the banks of the River Garonne 150 kilometres 93 miles from the Mediterranean Sea 230 km 143 mi from the Atlantic Ocean and 680 km 420 mi from Paris It is the fourth largest city in France after Paris Marseille and Lyon with 500 000 inhabitants within its municipal boundaries 2020 census 8 its metropolitan area has a population of 1 5 million inhabitants 2020 census 6 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 9 Toulouse Tolosa Occitan Prefecture and communeView of Old Toulouse Ariane 5 Cite de l espace Basilica of Saint Sernin Place du Capitole the first Airbus A380 Musee des Augustins Hotel d Assezat Church of the JacobinsFlagCoat of armsMotto s Per Tolosa totjorn mai Occitan for For Toulouse always more Location of ToulouseToulouseShow map of FranceToulouseShow map of OccitanieCoordinates 43 36 16 N 1 26 38 E 43 6045 N 1 444 E 43 6045 1 444CountryFranceRegionOccitaniaDepartmentHaute GaronneArrondissementToulouseCanton 11 cantons Toulouse 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and 11IntercommunalityToulouse MetropoleGovernment Mayor 2020 2026 Jean Luc Moudenc 1 LR Area1118 3 km2 45 7 sq mi Urban 2020 2 957 5 km2 369 7 sq mi Metro 2020 3 6 520 2 km2 2 517 5 sq mi Population Jan 2020 4 498 003 Rank4th in France Density4 200 km2 11 000 sq mi Urban Jan 2020 5 1 047 829 Urban density1 100 km2 2 800 sq mi Metro Jan 2020 6 1 470 899 Metro density230 km2 580 sq mi Demonym s English ToulousianFrench Toulousain e Occitan tolosenc a Time zoneUTC 01 00 CET Summer DST UTC 02 00 CEST INSEE Postal code31555 Websitewww wbr toulouse wbr fr1 French Land Register data which excludes lakes ponds glaciers gt 1 km2 0 386 sq mi or 247 acres and river estuaries Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry with the headquarters of Airbus the SPOT satellite system ATR and the Aerospace Valley It hosts the CNES s Toulouse Space Centre 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 10 11 Thales Alenia Space ATR SAFRAN Liebherr Aerospace and Airbus Defence and Space 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 12 According to the rankings of L Express and Challenges Toulouse is the most dynamic French city 13 14 15 Founded by the Romans the city was the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom in the 5th century and the capital of the province of Languedoc in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period provinces were abolished during the French Revolution making it the unofficial capital of the cultural region of Occitania Southern France It is now the capital of the region of Occitania the second largest region in Metropolitan France The University of Toulouse 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 16 Toulouse counts three UNESCO World Heritage Sites the Canal du Midi designated in 1996 and shared with other cities and the Basilica of St Sernin the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe 17 designated in 1998 along with the former hospital Hotel Dieu Saint Jacques because of their significance to the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route The city s unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname La Ville rose The Pink city 18 19 Contents 1 Geography 1 1 Hydrography 1 2 Climate 2 History 2 1 Early history 2 1 1 Toulouse refounded by the Romans on the banks of the Garonne 2 1 2 Capital of the Visigothic kingdom 2 1 3 Under Frankish rule 2 2 County of Toulouse 2 2 1 The fight against Catharism and its various aspects 2 3 Kingdom of France 2 4 19th century 2 5 20th and 21st centuries 3 Population 4 Government and politics 4 1 Toulouse Metropole 4 2 Local politics 4 3 Mayors 5 Sights and architecture 5 1 Romanesque architecture 11th 12th c 5 1 1 Basilica of Saint Sernin 5 2 Gothic architecture 13th c early 16th c 5 2 1 Southern French Gothic a militant religious architecture 5 2 2 Gothic civil architecture 5 3 Renaissance architecture 16th c early 17th c 5 4 17th century architecture 5 4 1 17th century religious architecture 5 4 2 17th century civil architecture 5 5 18th century architecture 5 6 19th century architecture 5 7 20th and 21st centuries architecture 5 8 Banks of the Garonne Canal du Midi parks 5 9 Museums and theme parks 6 Economy 7 Education 7 1 Colleges and universities 7 2 Primary and secondary schools 8 Transport 8 1 Train 8 2 Metro 8 3 Tramway 8 4 Cable car 8 5 Bicycle 8 6 Airports 8 7 Canal 8 8 Toulouse public transportation statistics 9 Communications 10 Culture 11 Sport 12 Notable people 13 International relations 13 1 Twin towns and sister cities 13 2 Other cooperations 14 See also 15 Notes 16 References 16 1 Citations 16 2 Sources 17 External linksGeography editToulouse 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 100 km from the Pyrenees and the borders with Andorra and Spain nbsp View of the Pyrenees from Toulouse at a distance of 100 kilometers the mountains are not visible most of the time Hydrography edit The city is traversed by the Canal de Brienne the Canal du Midi the Canal de Garonne and the rivers Garonne Touch and Hers Mort nbsp View of the Garonne in ToulouseClimate edit Toulouse has a four season humid subtropical climate Cfa in the Koppen climate classification Too much precipitation during the summer months prevents the city from being classified in the Mediterranean climate zone Climate data for Toulouse TLS elevation 151 m 495 ft 1991 2020 normals extremes 1947 presentMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 21 2 70 2 24 1 75 4 27 1 80 8 30 0 86 0 34 4 93 9 40 2 104 4 40 2 104 4 42 4 108 3 35 3 95 5 31 8 89 2 24 3 75 7 21 1 70 0 42 4 108 3 Average high C F 9 7 49 5 11 2 52 2 15 0 59 0 17 6 63 7 21 4 70 5 25 7 78 3 28 2 82 8 28 5 83 3 24 8 76 6 19 7 67 5 13 5 56 3 10 4 50 7 18 8 65 8 Daily mean C F 6 3 43 3 7 1 44 8 10 3 50 5 12 7 54 9 16 4 61 5 20 3 68 5 22 6 72 7 22 8 73 0 19 3 66 7 15 3 59 5 9 9 49 8 7 0 44 6 14 2 57 6 Average low C F 2 9 37 2 3 1 37 6 5 5 41 9 7 9 46 2 11 4 52 5 15 0 59 0 17 0 62 6 17 1 62 8 13 9 57 0 10 9 51 6 6 3 43 3 3 6 38 5 9 6 49 3 Record low C F 18 6 1 5 19 2 2 6 8 4 16 9 3 0 26 6 0 8 30 6 4 0 39 2 7 6 45 7 5 5 41 9 1 9 35 4 3 0 26 6 7 5 18 5 12 0 10 4 19 2 2 6 Average precipitation mm inches 52 5 2 07 37 2 1 46 45 3 1 78 65 2 2 57 73 6 2 90 64 2 2 53 40 1 1 58 44 6 1 76 45 7 1 80 54 3 2 14 55 0 2 17 49 3 1 94 627 0 24 69 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 9 2 7 8 8 2 9 3 9 9 7 1 5 7 5 9 6 6 7 5 10 0 8 7 95 8Average snowy days 1 8 2 0 0 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 2 6 1Average relative humidity 87 82 77 76 76 72 68 71 74 81 85 88 78Mean monthly sunshine hours 89 1 118 2 175 3 188 5 212 3 231 8 258 6 246 4 210 1 155 2 99 9 89 7 2 075 1Source 1 Meteo France 20 Source 2 Infoclimat fr relative humidity 1961 1990 21 Climate data for Toulouse Francazal elevation 164 m 538 ft 1991 2020 normals extremes 1922 presentMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 23 3 73 9 24 8 76 6 28 3 82 9 29 9 85 8 33 9 93 0 39 6 103 3 40 2 104 4 44 0 111 2 36 0 96 8 35 4 95 7 27 0 80 6 26 9 80 4 44 0 111 2 Average high C F 9 9 49 8 11 3 52 3 15 0 59 0 17 6 63 7 21 3 70 3 25 5 77 9 28 1 82 6 28 6 83 5 24 8 76 6 19 8 67 6 13 7 56 7 10 7 51 3 18 9 66 0 Daily mean C F 6 5 43 7 7 3 45 1 10 3 50 5 12 8 55 0 16 5 61 7 20 3 68 5 22 6 72 7 22 8 73 0 19 4 66 9 15 4 59 7 10 0 50 0 7 2 45 0 14 3 57 7 Average low C F 3 1 37 6 3 2 37 8 5 7 42 3 8 0 46 4 11 6 52 9 15 1 59 2 17 0 62 6 17 1 62 8 13 9 57 0 11 0 51 8 6 4 43 5 3 8 38 8 9 7 49 5 Record low C F 19 0 2 2 16 7 1 9 7 4 18 7 4 1 24 6 0 1 32 2 4 5 40 1 7 0 44 6 7 3 45 1 0 0 32 0 2 6 27 3 8 5 16 7 13 4 7 9 19 0 2 2 Average precipitation mm inches 56 4 2 22 38 8 1 53 43 7 1 72 65 2 2 57 74 7 2 94 59 2 2 33 42 5 1 67 42 6 1 68 50 5 1 99 52 4 2 06 58 2 2 29 51 5 2 03 635 7 25 03 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 8 8 7 6 8 1 9 5 9 5 7 1 5 6 6 0 6 4 7 7 9 6 9 0 94 8Mean monthly sunshine hours 93 1 116 6 173 6 186 7 207 5 224 8 246 8 234 9 202 5 147 9 94 9 85 4 2 014 5Source Meteo France sun 1991 2010 22 History editMain articles History of Toulouse and Timeline of Toulouse nbsp The remains of the Roman wall in Toulouse illustrate the early use of brick and stone in construction nbsp The martyrdom of Saint Saturnin nbsp In the 5th century Toulouse was the capital of a vast Visigothic Kingdom that stretched from the Loire to Gibraltar Early history edit The Garonne Valley was a central point for trade between the Pyrenees the Mediterranean and the Atlantic since at least the Iron Age The historical name of the city Tolosa Tolῶssa in Greek and of its inhabitants the Tolosates first recorded in the 2nd century BC is of unknown meaning or origin possibly from Aquitanian or Iberian 23 but it has also been connected to the name of the Gaulish Volcae Tectosages 24 or to the same root as Irish tulach or Welsh twlch little hill Toulouse refounded by the Romans on the banks of the Garonne edit Tolosa enters the historical period in the 2nd century BC when it became a Roman military outpost After the conquest of Gaul it was developed as a Roman city in Gallia Narbonensis Under the reign of Emperor Augustus and thanks to the Pax Romana the Romans moved the city a few kilometres from the hills where it was an oppidum to the banks of the Garonne which were more suitable for trade 25 In the second half of the 1st century the emperor Domitian distinguished Toulouse by placing it under the patronage of the goddess Pallas Athena so that the Latin poets Martial Ausonius and Sidonius Apollinaris 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 25 Around the year 250 Toulouse was marked by the martyrdom of Saturnin the first bishop of Toulouse This episode illustrates the difficult beginnings of Christianity in Roman Gaul 25 Capital of the Visigothic kingdom edit In the 5th century Toulouse fell to the Visigothic kingdom and became one of its major cities even serving as its capital before it fell to the Franks under Clovis in 507 Battle of Vouille 25 From that time Toulouse was the capital of Aquitaine within the Frankish realm 26 Under Frankish rule edit In 721 Duke Odo of Aquitaine defeated an invading Umayyad Muslim army at the Battle of Toulouse Many Arab chroniclers consider that Odo s victory was the real stop to Muslim expansion into Christian Europe incursions of the following years being simple raids without real will of conquest including the one that ended with Charles Martel s victory at the Battle of Tours also called the Battle of Poitiers 27 25 The Frankish conquest of Septimania followed in the 750s and a quasi independent County of Toulouse emerged within the Carolingian sub kingdom of Aquitaine by the late 8th century The Battle of Toulouse of 844 pitting Charles the Bald against Pepin II of Aquitaine was key in the Carolingian Civil War 25 County of Toulouse edit Further information County of Toulouse nbsp Raymond IV Count of Toulouse was a leader of the First Crusade nbsp St Dominic s room at Maison Seilhan is considered the birthplace of the Dominican Order nbsp Burial of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the church of the Jacobins in Toulouse nbsp Over nearly 5 centuries the capitouls the municipal consuls held an exceptional collection of their portraits in the municipal annals nbsp Painting representing the first session of the poetry contest of the Consistori del Gay Saber later known as the Academy of the Floral Games the oldest literary society in Europe nbsp The Parliament of Toulouse was the second most important and oldest in the kingdom after that of Paris making Toulouse the judicial capital of a large part of southern France nbsp The woad trade which was the only source of blue dye at the time in Europe made the fortune of the merchants of Toulouse during the Renaissance nbsp 1650 Toulouse capital of Languedoc nbsp The vast Hall of the Illustrious Salle des Illustres in the Capitole presents numerous paintings and sculptures illustrating the history 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 who wrote their poetry in Occitan called Provencal at the time then one of the most sophisticated languages in Europe Like the other great lords of the Midi the counts of Toulouse maintained and favoured these poets this is how Count Raymond V employed for some time the famous Bernard de Ventadour expert in singing courtly love 28 In 1096 Raymond IV Count of Toulouse left with his army at the call of the Pope Urban II to join the First Crusade of which he was one of the main leaders 25 29 This exodus of its warriors and nobles reinforced by the creation of the faraway County of Tripoli 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 challenged the possession of the city on the grounds that it should have been inherited by his wife Philippa daughter of the previous count of Toulouse whereas Raymond IV was only his brother More than 50 years later his granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine still claimed the inheritance in vain 25 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 capitouls 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 25 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 was the first recorded European joint stock company The fight against Catharism and its various aspects edit 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 in the south of France which the Pope Innocent III wanted to eradicate by all possible means 25 After an initial victory of the crusaders led by Simon de Montfort who defeated the combined forces of Count Raymond VI of Toulouse and King Peter II of Aragon 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 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 25 But beyond the military crusade this struggle took on several important aspects for the city of Toulouse The Dominican Order was founded in Toulouse by Saint Dominic in 1215 Spanish priest Dominic de Guzman 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 which within a few decades would cover Europe with hundreds of convents The Order of Preachers also known as the Dominicans 25 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 25 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 a younger brother of Louis IX of France The marriage became legal in 1241 but it remained childless and so after Joan s death the county fell to the Crown of France by inheritance 25 Another consequence of the Treaty of Paris was the creation of the University of Toulouse established on the Parisian model strongly sponsored by the pope and intended as a means to dissolve the heretic movement 30 25 Also in 1229 the Council of Toulouse was held which laid the foundations for the long period of Inquisition that was to eradicate Catharism in the region after the military victory of the Crusade 25 Kingdom of France edit 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 no longer had a count and was annexed to the royal domain 25 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 25 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 against Toulouse s Jewish population in 1320 25 31 In 1335 Toulouse had between 35 000 and 40 000 inhabitants 25 In 1323 the Consistori del Gay Saber was created in Toulouse to preserve the lyric art of the troubadours by organizing a poetry contest and Toulouse became the centre of Occitan 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 on grammar and rhetoric of the Middle Ages and in 1694 it was transformed into the Royal Academy of the Floral Games Academie des Jeux Floraux still active today by king Louis XIV 25 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 Innocent VI and Urban V These powerful prelates financed the establishment of colleges in the university towns of southern France not only Toulouse but also Montpellier Cahors and Avignon 32 The Black Death in 1348 then the Hundred Years War caused a major crisis that lasted until the following century 25 Despite strong immigration the population lost more than 10 000 inhabitants in 70 years By 1405 Toulouse had only 19 000 people 33 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 25 In 1369 pope Urban V attributed to the Dominican church of the Jacobins of Toulouse the bones of the Dominican theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas perhaps to honor the city that had been the cradle of the Dominican order at the beginning of the previous century 25 The political and economic situation improved by the middle of the 15th century 34 In 1443 King Charles VII established the second parliament 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 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 35 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 25 In the 16th century and until 1562 the economy of Toulouse experienced a golden age its Parliament 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 parliament 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 36 25 In 1562 the French Wars of Religion began and Toulouse became an ultra Catholic stronghold in a predominantly Protestant region the era of economic prosperity came to an end The governor of Languedoc Henri II de Montmorency who had rebelled was executed in 1632 in the Capitole in the presence of King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu 25 In 1666 Pierre Paul Riquet started the construction of the Canal du Midi 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 25 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 37 25 A famous example illustrates this backwardness of Toulouse mentalities of the time in 1762 its powerful parliament sentenced Jean Calas to death The philosopher Voltaire then accused the Parliament of Toulouse of religious intolerance Calas was a Protestant gave the affair a European repercussion and succeeded in having the judgment of the parliament quashed by the King s Council which did much damage to the reputation of the parliament 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 parliament ruling over an even larger territory the city then found itself simply at the head of the single small department of Haute Garonne 25 19th century edit On 10 April 1814 four days after Napoleon s surrender of the 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 pitted the Hispanic British troops of Field Marshal Wellington against the French troops of Napoleonic Marshal 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 38 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 39 20th and 21st centuries edit nbsp The epic of l Aeropostale has written some of the most beautiful pages in the history of aviation in Toulouse World War I brought to Toulouse geographically sheltered from enemy attacks chemical industries as well as aviation workshops Latecoere Dewoitine which launched the city s aeronautical construction tradition and gave birth after the war to the famous Aeropostale 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 Exupery himself an Aeropostale pilot 40 41 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 French repatriates from Algeria swelled the city s population 41 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 41 On 21 September 2001 an 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 80 km 50 mi away 41 42 In 2016 a territorial reform made Toulouse the regional prefecture of 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 41 Population editHistorical population 43 44 Urban Area MetropolitanArea1695 43 0001750 48 0001790 52 8631801 50 1711831 59 6301851 95 2771872 126 9361911 149 0001936 213 2201946 264 4111954 268 8651962 329 0441968 489 293 687 8041975 570 217 776 9601982 601 576 827 7141990 683 436 935 0091999 782 296 1 062 9742007 888 479 1 235 7462012 940 016 1 322 2712017 1 004 747 1 414 9362020 1 047 829 1 470 899The population of the city proper French commune was 498 003 at the January 2020 census with 1 470 899 inhabitants in the metropolitan area 6 up from 1 268 438 at the January 2009 census 45 Thus the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of 1 36 per year between 2009 and 2020 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 Marseille and Lyon and the fifth most populated metropolitan area after Paris Lyon Marseille and Lille Historical population of the commune of ToulouseYearPop p a 179352 612 180050 171 0 68 180651 689 0 50 182152 328 0 08 183159 639 1 32 183677 372 5 04 184190 368 3 15 184694 227 0 83 185196 564 0 49 1856103 144 1 39 1861113 714 1 94 1866126 936 2 22 1872124 852 0 28 1876131 642 1 18 1881140 289 1 24 1886147 617 1 13 1891149 791 0 30 1896149 963 0 02 1901149 841 0 02 YearPop p a 1906149 438 0 05 1911149 576 0 02 1921175 434 1 61 1926180 771 0 60 1931194 564 1 48 1936213 220 1 85 1946264 411 2 18 1954268 863 0 20 1962323 724 2 40 1968370 796 2 29 1975373 796 0 12 1982347 995 1 01 1990358 688 0 38 1999390 350 0 94 2007439 453 1 53 2012453 317 0 62 2017479 553 1 13 2020498 003 1 27 Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki wiki Source EHESS 46 and INSEE 47 48 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 1 470 899 inhabitants in January 2020 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 A local Jewish group estimates there are about 2 500 Jewish families in Toulouse 49 A Muslim association has estimated there are some 35 000 Muslims in town 50 Government and politics editToulouse Metropole edit nbsp Former tower of the city archives and meeting place of the capitouls 1525 1530Main article Toulouse Metropole The Community of Agglomeration of Greater Toulouse Communaute d agglomeration 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 380 km2 147 sq mi 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 communaute urbaine This has become a metropole in 2015 spanning 37 communes with 806 503 inhabitants in 2020 census 51 Local politics edit nbsp Toulouse s city hall the Capitole de Toulouse and the square of the same name with the Occitan cross designed by Raymond Moretti on the ground nbsp Coats of arms of Toulouse Saint Sernin church and Comtal castle frame a paschal lamb bearing the Toulouse cross nbsp Jean Luc Moudenc mayor of ToulouseOne of the major political figures in Toulouse was Dominique Baudis the mayor of Toulouse between 1983 and 2001 member of the centrist UDF 52 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 operations as well as revive the cultural heritage of the city The Occitan cross flag of Languedoc 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 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 bronzes from the Renaissance to the 20th century was established a huge pop music concert venue Zenith the largest in France outside Paris was built the space museum and educational park Cite de l Espace was founded etc To deal with growth major housing and transportation projects were launched Line A of the 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 Green Party 53 In 2000 Dominique Baudis was at the zenith of his popularity with approval rates of 85 citation needed 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 UDF mayor of Lourdes as his successor Baudis has since been appointed president of the CSA Conseil superieur de l audiovisuel in Paris the French equivalent of the American 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 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 edit Mayor Term start Term end PartyRaymond Badiou 1944 September 1958 SFIOG Carrere September 1958 16 October 1958 SFIOLouis Bazerque 16 October 1958 1971 SFIOPierre Baudis March 1971 March 1983 UDFDominique Baudis March 1983 23 January 2001 UDFGuy Hersant 23 January 2001 23 March 2001 UDFPhilippe Douste Blazy 23 March 2001 30 April 2004 UDFFrancoise de Veyrinas 30 April 2004 6 May 2004 UMPJean Luc Moudenc 6 May 2004 17 March 2008 UMPPierre Cohen 17 March 2008 4 April 2014 PSJean Luc Moudenc 4 April 2014 incumbent UMPSights and architecture edit nbsp Format differences between a foraine brick and a regular brickClassified 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 edit nbsp Remains of a Romanesque brick wall in the Jardin des PlantesThe 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 edit Basilica of Saint Sernin part of the 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 churches in Europe note 1 With more than two hundred relics including that of 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 54 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 Miegeville gate one of the first of its kind 55 Basilica of Saint Sernin nbsp Basilica of Saint Sernin nbsp The east side is the oldest part nbsp Romanesque tympanum of Miegeville gate late 11th c or early 12th c nbsp Romanesque sculptures nbsp The central nave of the church nbsp Romanesque paintingsGothic architecture 13th c early 16th c edit Southern French Gothic a militant religious architecture edit See also Southern French Gothic 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 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 convents of the city before spreading in the 14th century to a large number of churches and cathedrals in the region 56 Several churches or convents in Toulouse belong to this architectural trend but two of them are particularly symbolic and remarkable Cathedral of Saint Etienne 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 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 57 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 55 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 57 Because he thought that the bones of Saint Thomas Aquinas deserved the most beautiful and most splendid surroundings 55 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 Southern French Gothic religious architecture nbsp Toulouse cathedral nbsp Southern French Gothic nave and northern Gothic choir nbsp Church of the Jacobins exterior 13th c nbsp The vault of the Jacobins and its famous palm tree nbsp Cloister 14th c and bell tower 1298 of the Jacobins nbsp Augustinian Convent 14th c nbsp Wall belfry of Notre Dame du Taur 14th c Gothic civil architecture edit Toulouse has preserved about thirty Gothic stair towers plus a dozen Renaissance or later towers 58 the remains of private mansions called hotels 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 the brick construction of these towers and hotels also testifies to their quality Gothic civil architecture nbsp Seguy tower 1477 nbsp Boysson tower 1478 nbsp Delfau tower 1497 nbsp Lancefoc tower late 15th c and Serta tower 1529 nbsp Olmieres tower 1503 nbsp Bernuy tower 1504 nbsp Bruni tower 1510 nbsp Beringuier Bonnefoy tower 1513 nbsp Serta tower 1529 nbsp Door of the Hotel Delfau nbsp Door of the Hotel de BernuyRenaissance architecture 16th c early 17th c edit Main article Renaissance architecture of Toulouse In the 16th century Toulouse experienced a golden age coinciding with the Renaissance in France The woad trade pastel brought merchants of international stature to the city and the Parliament 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 Serlio Alberti or Vitruvius but also by the royal castles of the Loire Valley and the Ile de France 36 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 hotels are those of Assezat Bernuy Vieux Raisin or Clary 36 Renaissance private mansions nbsp Classical facades of hotel d Assezat nbsp Hotel d Assezat nbsp Low vault of hotel de Bernuy nbsp Renaissance windows at hotel du Vieux Raisin nbsp The hotel de Clary and its Mannerist decoration nbsp The tower of the Hotel de BrucellesSample of Renaissance doors nbsp Door of hotel du Vieux Raisin nbsp Portal of hotel d Assezat nbsp Door of hotel d Assezat nbsp Door of hotel d Assezat nbsp Portal of hotel Molinier nbsp Portal of a former college of the university nbsp Portal of Dalbade church nbsp Door of hotel de Bagis nbsp Triumphal portal of the Capitole17th century architecture edit 17th century religious architecture edit The French Wars of Religion 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 Order of Carthusians expelled by the Protestants from the region of Castres founded the church of Saint Pierre des Chartreux the order of the Discalced Carmelites built the church of Saint Exupere the blue penitents founded the church of Saint Jerome and the order of Carmelite nuns created a convent of which a remarkable painted chapel remains 17th c religious architecture nbsp Church of Saint Pierre des Chartreux nbsp Church of Saint Pierre des Chartreux nbsp Portal of Saint Pierre des Chartreux nbsp Church of Saint Exupere nbsp Church of Saint Exupere detail of the facade nbsp Church of Saint Exupere nbsp Chapel of the Carmelites painted decoration17th century civil architecture edit 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 parliament 59 17th c civil architecture nbsp Hotel de Caulet nbsp Hotel Comere nbsp Hotel d Avizard nbsp Hotel Saint Jean courtyard former Grand Priory of Knights Hospitaller nbsp Henri IV courtyard of the Capitole brick and stone nbsp Portal of hotel de Chalvet nbsp Portal of hotel d Orbessan nbsp Portal of hotel Desplats courtyard 18th century architecture edit In the 18th century Toulouse made its living from its Parliament and from the wheat and corn trade which was boosted by the creation of the Canal du Midi 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 18th century architecture nbsp Capitole city hall nbsp Hotel d Espie nbsp Portal of hotel d Espie nbsp Hotel de Bonfontan nbsp Basilica of la Daurade19th century architecture edit 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 19th century architecture nbsp Place du Capitole the main square of Toulouse 19th c nbsp Place du Capitole Cafe Bibent nbsp Facade with moulded terracotta decorations 19th c nbsp Facade with moulded terracotta decorations 19th c nbsp Yellow brick of Alsace Lorraine street 19th c 20th and 21st centuries architecture edit 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 20th and 21st centuries architecture nbsp Toulouse Matabiau station 1905 nbsp Art nouveau facade Gambetta street early 20th c nbsp Art Deco facade Alsace Lorraine street c 1930 nbsp Seat of the departmental council 1999 by the architect Robert Venturi winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1991 nbsp Seat of the Toulouse School of Economics 2019 by Grafton Architects winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2020Banks of the Garonne Canal du Midi parks edit nbsp Numerous parks and green spaces line the Garonne in the heart of Toulouse The banks of the 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 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 river in the 12th century the Bazacle Milling Company 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 Hotel Dieu Saint Jacques and the Hopital 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 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 in 1996 The 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 cafes 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 Banks of the Garonne Canal du Midi parks nbsp Pont Neuf 16th 17th c nbsp Red brick dykes from the 18th century nbsp Quays of the Garonne and Pont Neuf nbsp Hotel Dieu Saint Jacques former hospital 12th 19th c nbsp La Grave former hospital 12th 19th c and the copper dome of its chapel nbsp Port de la Daurade a former river port converted into a recreational area nbsp Raymond VI garden at the foot of the last remains of the old Toulouse ramparts on the left bank nbsp Canal du Midi 17th c nbsp Grand rond park nbsp Japanese garden nbsp Renaissance portal in Jardin des plantesMuseums and theme parks edit Toulouse has many museums the most important of which are Musee des Augustins is the fine arts museum of Toulouse it is located in the former Augustinian convent Bemberg Foundation housed in the Hotel d Assezat presents to the public one of the major private collections of art in Europe Musee 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 Musee Paul Dupuy is the museum of Decorative Arts and Graphic Arts including a very rich collection of clocks and watches Musee Georges Labit is dedicated to artifacts from the Far Eastern and Ancient Egyptian civilizations Museum 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 Toulouse also has several theme parks notably highlighting its aeronautical and space heritage Cite 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 Aeropostale 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 Exupery 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 Museums and theme parks nbsp Musee des Augustins nbsp Lady Tholose a bronze of the Renaissance Augustins nbsp Painting of Lucas Cranach the Elder at Bemberg Foundation nbsp Musee Saint Raymond nbsp Georges Labit Museum nbsp Museum de Toulouse nbsp Picasso at Les Abattoirs nbsp Les Abattoirs nbsp Cite de l espace nbsp Cite de l espace nbsp Aeroscopia nbsp L Envol des pionniers a Salmson 2 A 2 plane is exposed under a portrait of Antoine de Saint Exupery nbsp The giant Minotaur of the Halle de La MachineEconomy editMain article Economy of Toulouse nbsp The main Airbus factory in Blagnac near Toulouse lies next to Toulouse AirportSince 2003 Toulouse has been the French city with the fastest growing GDP per capita a performance driven by growing high tech industries 60 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 61 Toulouse can particularly be described as the capital of the European aerospace industry it hosts the Airbus headquarters and assembly lines of Airbus A320 A330 and A350 The A380 was also produced here the last completed in 2021 as was the Concorde supersonic aircraft 62 63 Toulouse also hosts the headquarters of ATR one of the two headquarters of Liebherr Aerospace and Groupe Latecoere As for the space industry with 12 000 jobs 400 companies and 25 of the European workforce Toulouse is the main European hub 64 Education edit nbsp Portal of the college de l Esquile 1556 a symbol of the university s seniorityToulouse has the fourth largest student population in France after Paris Lyon and Lille with 103 000 students 2012 Colleges and universities edit nbsp A historic building of the University of Toulouse nbsp New building of Toulouse School of Economics nbsp ENAC entranceThe University of Toulouse Universite 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 citation needed Catholic University of Toulouse Universite Toulouse I Toulouse School of Economics Toulouse School of Management and Institut d etudes politiques de Toulouse University of Toulouse Jean Jaures Formerly University of Toulouse II Le Mirail Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Toulouse is also the home of Toulouse Business School TBS Toulouse School of Economics TSE the Institut superieur europeen de gestion group ISEG Group the Institut superieur europeen de formation par l action ISEFAC E Artsup and several engineering schools ICAM Toulouse Institut catholique d arts et metiers INSA Toulouse ISAE SUPAERO Institut superieur de l aeronautique et de l espace ENAC Ecole Nationale de l Aviation Civile INP ENSEEIHT Ecole Nationale Superieure d Electronique d Electrotechnique d Informatique d Hydraulique et des Telecommunications ENSFEA Ecole nationale superieure de formation de l enseignement agricole INP ENSIACET Ecole nationale superieure d ingenieurs en art chimique et technologique INP ENSAT Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique de Toulouse INP ENM Ecole Nationale de la Meteorologie EPITA Ecole pour l informatique et les techniques avancees EPITECH Ecole pour l informatique et les nouvelles technologies or European Institute of Information Technology IPSA Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancees EIPurpan Ecole d ingenieurs de Purpan Primary and secondary schools edit The most well known high schools in Toulouse are Lycee Pierre de Fermat and Lycee Saint Sernin International schools serving area expatriates are in nearby Colomiers International School of Toulouse Deutsche Schule Toulouse German school Transport edit nbsp Line A of the Toulouse Metro nbsp Teleo the cable car of Toulouse nbsp Toulouse public transport map that shows metro lines tram lines and the high level bus network called LineoTrain edit 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 Gallieni Canceropole Toulouse Saint Cyprien Arenes 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 edit All urban bus metro and tram services are operated by Tisseo In addition to an extensive bus system 145 lines the Toulouse Metro is a VAL Vehicule Automatique Leger metro system made up of driverless automatic rubber tired trains Line A runs for 12 5 km 7 8 mi 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 Jaures Line C is under construction for an opening in 2028 with 21 stations over 27km It will cross line B at 2 stations La Vache and Francois 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 Arenes 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 65 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 65 Since 2023 the service is now named Arenes Colomiers train line to leave the name for the new metro line 66 Similarly Line D runs south from Toulouse Matabiau to Muret Tramway edit The Toulouse conurbation has two tram lines The tramway line T1 with 25 stations and 14 8km 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 edit Since May 13 2022 the city of Toulouse has had a new mode of public transportation called Teleo This is a cable car that links Paul Sabatier University to Rangueil Hospital and the Oncopole a major cancer research center It allows to fly over the Garonne and the hill of Pech David and with its 3 kilometers 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 center but designed to encircle the south of Toulouse Bicycle edit In 2007 a citywide bicycle rental scheme called VeloToulouse was introduced 67 with bicycles available from automated stations for a daily weekly monthly or yearly subscription Airports edit Airports include Toulouse Blagnac the principal local airport Toulouse Francazal former principal airport then former military airfield its activity is nowadays reduced Toulouse Lasbordes this airfield is dedicated to leisure aviation and flying clubsCanal edit The Canal du Midi begins in Toulouse and runs up to Sete Toulouse public transportation statistics edit The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Toulouse for example to and from work on a weekday is 44 min 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 min 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 7 km while 8 travel for over 12 km in a single direction 68 Communications editToulouse is the home of Bonhoure Radio Tower a 61 metre high lattice tower used for FM and TV transmission 69 In 2001 a large 100 km optical fiber symmetric 360Gbit s network named Infrastructure Metropolitaine de Telecommunications was deployed around the city and suburbs 70 Culture edit nbsp The Halle aux grains a former grain market now used as a concert hallThe Theatre du Capitole is the home of opera and ballet there has been a theatre on the site since 1736 71 The Orchestre National du Capitole long associated with Michel Plasson plays at the Halle aux Grains 72 On 31 October 2023 Toulouse was named UNESCO City of Music 73 Le Chateau d Eau 74 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 Musee des Augustins the Musee des Abattoirs the Musee Georges Labit and the Fondation Bemberg in the Hotel d Assezat The Musee Saint Raymond is devoted to Antiquity and the Museum de Toulouse to natural history Toulouse is the seat of the Academie des Jeux Floraux the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan speaking regions of southern France making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture The traditional 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 Pyrenees region 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 Pyrenees 75 Sport editStade Toulousain of the Top 14 is one of the most successful rugby union clubs in Europe having been crowned European champions five times and French champions twenty two times 76 77 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 top tier in 2022 and played in the 2nd tier 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 final a 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 Major sports facilities and professional clubs nbsp The municipal Stadium capacity 33 150 nbsp Stade Ernest Wallon capacity 19 500 nbsp Rugby union Stade toulousain nbsp Football Toulouse Football Club nbsp Rugby league Toulouse Olympique nbsp Women s basket Toulouse Metropole Basket nbsp Handball Fenix Toulouse Handball nbsp Volleyball Spacer s Toulouse Volley An unrelated club also based in the city and named Toulouse FC but now defunct won the 1957 final Notable people editMain category People from Toulouse nbsp Bust of mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the Capitole de ToulouseSeveral 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 Paul Sabatier 1854 1941 1912 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Albert Fert b 1938 78 2007 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics who grew up in Toulouse where he attended the Lycee Pierre de Fermat and Jean Tirole b 1953 owner of the 2014 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 b 1992 were born in Toulouse Concerning arts Toulouse is the birthplace of Impressionist painter Henri Martin 1860 1943 as well as sculptors Alexandre Falguiere 1831 1900 Antonin Mercie 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 c 1041 1105 one of the leaders of the First Crusade was born in Toulouse Aviation pioneer Clement Ader 1841 1925 acrobatic performer Jules Leotard 1838 1870 who gave his name to the leotard and psychiatrist Jean Etienne 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 79 International relations editSee also List of twin towns and sister cities in France Twin towns and sister cities edit Toulouse is twinned with 80 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 edit Toulouse also has accords of cooperation with the following towns 81 Zaragoza Aragon Spain N Djamena Chad Hanoi Vietnam Saint Louis Senegal Dusseldorf Germany Kfardebian LebanonSee also edit nbsp France portal138 Tolosa an asteroid Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse Andre Abbal Listing of the works of Alexandre Falguiere The works of Antonin Mercie List of the mayors of ToulouseNotes edit 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 References 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00758 INSEE Retrieved 16 June 2022 Aire d attraction des villes 2020 de Toulouse 005 INSEE Retrieved 16 June 2022 INSEE Statistiques locales Toulouse Aire d attraction des villes 2020 Population municipale historique depuis 1876 Retrieved 2 April 2022 Des villages de Cassini aux communes d aujourd hui Commune data sheet Toulouse EHESS in French Population en historique depuis 1968 INSEE Populations legales 2020 INSEE Killings sour good life for high flying Toulouse Reuters 20 March 2012 Retrieved 2 February 2023 Irish John 20 March 2012 Killings sour good life for high flying Toulouse Reuters com Retrieved 1 October 2013 Decret n 2014 1078 du 22 septembre 2014 portant creation de la metropole denommee Toulouse Metropole Legifrance Retrieved 30 June 2017 Laval Gilbert Toulouse un legs difficile pour Douste Blazy Baudis adoube le chef des deputes UDF pour sa succession municipale en 2001 Liberation in French Retrieved 2 February 2023 Toulouse politics information Bonjourlafrance com Archived from the original on 28 August 2013 Retrieved 1 October 2013 Jean Claude Jaffe Toulouse le patrimoine revele Editions Privat 2013 a b c Quitterie and Daniel Cazes See you in Toulouse Editions Sud Ouest 2018 Caroline de Barrau Le gothique toulousain un art militant in magazine VMF of march 2010 revue des Vieilles Maisons Francaises in French a b La Cite episcopale d Albi Episcopal City of Albi Nomination document produced by French state for inscription on the world heritage list p 875 chapter comparing the Cathedral of Albi with the Jacobin Convent of Toulouse in French PDF World Heritage Centre UNESCO 2009 Jean Francois Gourdou Tours tolosanes Editions Privat 2008 Guy Ahlsell de Toulza Louis Peyrusse Bruno Tollon Hotels et demeures de Toulouse et du Midi toulousain Hotels and residences in Toulouse and the region of Toulouse Editor Daniel Briand 1997 Voici la ville de France qui s est le plus enrichie depuis 2003 Here is the city in France that has grown the most since 2003 BFMTV com amp Cologne Institute for Economic Research 2 October 2016 Pierre Alexandre Balland Les atouts economiques de Toulouse The economic assets of Toulouse 1 29 September 2021 Airbus A380 lands after making aviation history USA Today 27 April 2005 Updated 28 April 2005 Retrieved 12 February 2010 Contacts Archived 10 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Airbus Retrieved 12 February 2010 La filiere spatiale sur Toulouse metropole The space industry in Toulouse metropole Ministere de l enseignement superieur et de la recherche 21 February 2019 a b Le RER toulousain entre en gares ladepeche fr Retrieved 6 February 2016 Plan detaille du reseau PDF 23 May 2023 Retrieved 8 July 2023 VeloToulouse arrive La Depeche du Midi in French Toulouse 11 November 2007 Retrieved 27 March 2017 Toulouse Public Transportation Statistics Global Public Transit Index by Moovit Retrieved 19 June 2017 nbsp Material was copied from this source which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4 0 International License Bonhoure Transmission Tower at Structurae Garonne networks com Garonne networks com Archived from the original on 8 February 2011 Retrieved 14 March 2011 L univers du Theatre Theatre du capitole fr Archived from the original on 17 February 2013 Retrieved 14 March 2011 Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse Onct mairie toulouse fr Retrieved 14 March 2011 55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day UNESCO Retrieved 31 October 2023 Le Chateau d Eau Official website in French Galeriechateaudeau org Archived from the original on 8 March 2011 Retrieved 1 October 2013 The production regions foiegras factsandtruth com Retrieved 4 February 2019 Europe s Top Rugby Clubs For Dummies Dummies com 4 January 2010 Retrieved 1 October 2013 ERC Classement Europeen Ercrugby com 21 September 2010 Archived from the original on 1 October 2013 Retrieved 1 October 2013 Albert Fert retrouve son Toulouse La Depeche du Midi Retrieved 23 May 2008 Mort de Just Fontaine les obseques de l ancien footballeur seront celebrees a Toulouse le lundi 6 mars La Depeche du Midi 2 March 2023 Retrieved 2 March 2023 Les villes jumelees in French Toulouse France Mairie de Toulouse Retrieved 26 December 2020 Accords de cooperation in French Toulouse France Mairie de Toulouse Retrieved 26 December 2020 Sources edit Le Stang Anne 2006 Histoire de Toulouse illustree in French leperegrinateurediteur com ISBN 2 910352 44 7 Kerrison Helen amp Jeremy 2008 The Practical Guide to Toulouse leperegrinateurediteur com ISBN 978 2 910352 46 2 Olivier Jean Marc 2019 Histoire de Toulouse et de la metropole in French Privat ISBN 978 2 7089 8379 3 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toulouse nbsp Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Toulouse Toulouse tourist office ToulouseCity com Archived 10 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine in French Toulouse city guide About France com Toulouse pink violets red and black Official French website Official site in French Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Toulouse amp oldid 1186210999, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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