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Bastide (planned town)Haute-Garonne

Bastide de Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze

Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze

Dimensions
The central square, surrounded by arcades and timber-framed houses, forms the heart of the bastide; the town hall of the 17th century and a timber-framed house of the same period stand out there. The church of Saint-Sulpice, southern Gothic of the 15th and 16th centuries, with a porch tower decorated with frescoes of the 15th century, stands outside the former enclosure. An iron mission cross of the 18th century, town houses from the 16th to the 19th century and several fountains complete the walk.
Period
13th century (paréage 1255, customs 1257); enclosure around 1356; church of the 15th-16th centuries; town houses from the 16th to the 19th century.
What stands there
The church has been classified as a monument historique since 1974; the town hall, the timber-framed house and the mission cross have been inscribed since 1950. The commune numbered 2,288 inhabitants in 2022.

In the valley of the Lèze, south of Toulouse, Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze is one of the best-preserved bastides of the Volvestre. In 1255 Alphonse de Poitiers, count of Toulouse and brother of Saint Louis, concluded an act of paréage with the Hospitallers of Saint John, whom the abbey of Lézat had endowed with the territory at the beginning of the 12th century; in March 1257 the count had the charter of privileges of the future inhabitants published. The central square lined with arcades, the timber-framed houses with covered arcades, the town hall of the 17th century and the southern Gothic church of the 15th and 16th centuries, outside the walls, make up an ensemble of great unity. The enclosure, decided upon around 1356 by the consuls, protected only the heart of the bastide, around the market square. Under the Revolution the commune took the name Libre-Lèze.

Further reading

Getting there : Free access to the bastide. The restored moulin de Pesquiès and the park of Puybusque are signposted by the communauté de communes du Volvestre.

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

Bastide de Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze
Mimi81 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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In the same department

All places — Haute-Garonne (42).