Monestiés

Monestiés is a commune of the Tarn in the Midi-Pyrénées region. Administratively, it is assigned to the district of Albi and is the capital ( chef-lieu ) of the canton which they gave the name.

The village, which is located on a side route of the Camino de Santiago ( most beautiful villages in France ) since 2001 has been classified as one of the plus beaux villages de France.

Geography

The village with 1421 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) is situated on the right bank of the Cérou around 20 kilometers north of Albi. He was once considered the capital of the Cérou Valley and in the Middle Ages as the most fortified city on the right bank of the Tarn.

In fact, the medieval town was originally surrounded by a wall and a moat. The trenches were filled in later and in its place was a pit, which today serves as a promenade. The old houses stand in a circle around the church of Saint -Pierre in a river bend.

History

In the first half of the 10th century enfeoffed the West Frankish king Louis IV Déodat, abbot of Saint- Salvy Kollegiatstift of Albi, with the property Monasterio (also Monesterio ), which in those days of a sanctuary and several outbuildings existed. The place name derives from the Latin Monasterium ( Monastery ').

The settlement of the area, however, goes back much further. 600 meters from the village center, at the mouth of Ceret in the Cérou, traces have been found of a Celtic oppidum of the late Iron Age. Several centuries later, the inhabitants left the hill to settle along the Roman road which connected Rodez Toulouse.

At the end of the Albigensian Crusade, Monestiés 1229 went as a fief to the bishops of Albi. A Co -Seigneur was responsible for the military protection. This agreement was confirmed in 1282 by the French king Philip the Fair. In contrast to the spreading in the region fortified towns, the town developed concentrically around his church. To accommodate the pilgrims, was built an inn in the 13th century outside the city walls.

The regional economic boom of the 18th century brought forward the village. Writings call for this time up to 23 resident dealers and 13 stores per year. The population lived mainly on the processing of hemp fibers to tissue and from trade with donkeys. This means that the village could continue to spread, the trenches were at that time filled up and torn down the walls. In the second half of the 19th century, imported from the colonies cotton supplanted the hemp weaving and Monestiés fell into the shadow of Carmaux where large coal deposits were discovered.

Coat of arms

Blazon: In red with a silver, black brick tower of two stars of the same color flanked; about two diagonally crossed, silver key bewinkelt by a sun ( heraldic right) and a crescent moon ( heraldic left ) of the same color.

Demographics

The highest population was reached in 1865 with around 1,600 inhabitants and inhabitants.

Attractions

  • The Peter Church Église Saint- Pierre was in 1550, rebuilt in a Mediterranean Gothic style on the foundations of a Romanesque church, which was destroyed in the run-up to the Wars of Religion. It is in five parts and has three bays and five side chapels between the buttresses. The hired bell tower is flanked by a round tower and decked out with a cast bell in 1559. The building is a French cultural monument since 1979.
  • The Musée BAJEN -Vega in the center is housed in a former mansion, which also serves as the Tourist Office. The exhibition shows pictures of some Spanish painter and painters (including Francisco BAJEN and his wife Martine Vega ), who had fled in 1939 by the Franco regime.
  • The pilgrimage chapel Chapelle Saint- Jacques ( also Chapelle de l' Hôpital called ) is home to a multi-piece stone sculpture of the Entombment of Christ, which was created in the 15th century for the bishops of Albi and before 1774 (as well as the choir stalls ), the chapel Château de Combefa graced. This episcopal palace lay to the south of Monestiés and is now destroyed.
  • Town Hall ( Mairie ), behind the church of Saint- Pierre
  • Entombment of Combefa
  • Village square with the fountain Le Griffoul (17th century)
Arrondissement Arrondissement of Albi Cantons of France Postal codes in France Tarn (river) West Francia Louis IV of France Philip IV of France Bastide Gothic art Romanesque art Bay (architecture) Autoire Auvillar Belcastel (Aveyron) Bruniquel Capdenac Cardaillac Carennac Castelnau-de-Montmiral Conques Estaing (Aveyron) La Couvertoirade Larressingle Lautrec Lauzerte Loubressac Najac Peyre (Aveyron) Puycelci Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Saint-Cirq-Lapopie Sarrant Sauveterre-de-Rouergue Blaye-les-Mines Cordes-sur-Ciel Gaillac Lisle-sur-Tarn Lombers Montauriol (Tarn) Rabastens Vieux (Tarn)
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