Albi Day 3
Monday 25th September
Today is all about Albi. I took a short tour to learn a little of the history. There is SO much history that it’s difficult to take in. The first civilization recorded for this area stretches back thousands of years to the Bronze Age. Now there’s an interesting word, civilization. However as I hear the stories of Albi and read further I think was there anything civil about it. There was the well know Albigensian or Cathar Crusade led by the church to stamp out another religious sect in the 1200’s, then more widespread were the Wars of Religion which commenced in the 1560’s through until 1598 and resulting in no less than 7 wars being waged. Then in more modern times this country had to live through WW1 and WW2.
Through all of that pain and horror I am so happy to see how this beautiful city of 50,000 prospers on the banks of the Tarn River in southern France. The red brick is symbolic of this area, unlike Uzes where limestone was readily available as a building medium. Refurbishment using the red brick is obvious in so many off the buildings and I think my images say it all.
The bridge in the foreground is 1000 years old and known as the old bridge of Albi. The higher bridge built in 1866 has had several name changes. It was originally named Pont Napoleon, Pont de Strasbourg, Pont Neuf (Nine) and now 22 August 1944. This date commemorates the memory of the passage of a German column through the city, signifying the liberation of France in WW2.
