Toulouse - Hôtel-Dieu

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.

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The history of the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques begins in 1313 with the merger of two smaller hospitals. One of the hospitals was entrusted to the Brotherhood of St. James in 1257 to facilitate the reception of pilgrims. The Hôtel-Dieu is still decorated with numerous scallop shells today.

Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the hospital underwent numerous architectural changes and expansions, becoming the largest hospital in Toulouse.