Toulouse - Le Capitole

Toulouse, then known as Tolose, was an important Gallic city. It became part of the Roman Empire under the name of Tolosa. It was the capital of the province of Gallia Narbonensis, situated between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. From the 4th century onward, Toulouse was the seat of the Archdiocese of Toulouse.

In 413, Toulouse became part of the Visigothic Kingdom. In 507, following the Visigoths' defeat by the Franks, the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse came to an end. In 721, the city was unsuccessfully besieged by Arabs for several months. Upto 843, Toulouse was the seat of the Kingdom of Aquitaine, after which the independent County of Toulouse was established, a center of Languedoc culture.

In 1208 Pope Innocent III called for a crusade against the Albigensians, during which the city was plundered. In 1228, after a grueling and destructive war of almost 20 years, Raymond VII of Toulouse gave up resistance and signed the Treaty of Paris.

During the Renaissance, Toulouse was one of the wealthiest cities in France. Woad a plant that at the time provided the only stable blue dye, thrived well in the near Lauragais region. The city's dominant market position gradually ended after 1550, when the Portuguese began importing the more affordable indigo from their colonies.


As early as 1190, a building for the city council, the Capitouls, was erected on this site. The name of the building is derived from them and the Roman Capitol. Since then, Toulouse's municipal administration building has always been located on this site. During the Huguenot Wars, the Capitol was at the center of the conflicts.

In the mid-18th century, it was decided to commission a municipal palace which would be unique in France. The new building, which was 135 meters long, was designed by Guillaume Cammas in the neoclassical style, built in characteristic pink brick and was completed in 1760.-