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Bastide (planned town)Haute-Garonne

Montesquieu-Volvestre

Montesquieu-Volvestre

Dimensions
The 13th-century chequerboard plan, between the Arize and the Lombards stream, can still be read in the streets. The church of Saint-Victor, with a flat chevet (east end) and a fortified brick front, carries an octagonal bell-tower of sixteen faces, thirty-two metres high. The market hall, the moulin de Barrau and, at a remove, the 13th-century château de Palays complete the ensemble; the hill of the Castéra offers a calvary and an orientation table.
Period
13th century (foundation 1238, customs 1246); walls after 1376; Catholic stronghold in the 16th century.
What stands there
The church of Saint-Victor is protected as a monument historique; the château de Palays, privately owned, has been inscribed since 1980. In 1880 Montesquieu was the seventh town of the Haute-Garonne by population, a sign of the vitality of this valley bastide.

South-west of Toulouse, in a bend of the Arize, Montesquieu-Volvestre is a bastide of the count of Toulouse Raymond VII. According to Wikipedia, which relies on the work of Charles Higounet, the new town was created in 1238 on lands confiscated from the Tersac family, then endowed in May 1246 with a charter of customs that left the inhabitants free to elect their own magistrates. The orthogonal plan extends between the Lombards stream and the river. The church of Saint-Victor, contemporary with the foundation, raises a fortified brick front and a bell-tower of thirty-two metres with sixteen faces, of a rarity that has been remarked upon. The market hall, also contemporary with the bastide, still houses the farmers' market. The Volvestre then formed a march between the counties of Toulouse, Comminges and Foix, which explains the defensive vocation of the place.

Further reading

Getting there : Free access to the town. Farmers' market on Saturday morning. The intercommunal tourist office offers guided tours of the bastide and historical trails in a brochure.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Montesquieu-Volvestre
O.T.Montesquieu-Volvestre · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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In the same department

All places — Haute-Garonne (42).