And here is a monument that we have visited but hardly taken any photos or at least I cannot find them chez moi. So on our latest trip I made sure visited and took photos of a wonderfully architecturally and historical monument of the pink city of Toulouse. In fact, I took lots of pictures and found them not in my blog and they should, Therefore, this is more of the Covent des Jacobins of Toulouse , part II! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Convent of the Jacobins of Toulouse, is made up of a church called Church of the Jacobins, a cloister, a chapter house, a refectory and a chapel, the Saint-Antonin chapel. It was built by the order of the preaching brothers, a begging order whose first convent of the male branch was founded in 1215 in Toulouse by Dominique de Guzmán, (Spanish, Domingo Núñez de Guzmán) future Saint Dominique, in order to promote the preaching of the Gospel and fight against the Cathar heresy. These buildings, entirely made of brick, are considered as jewels of Languedoc Gothic art in terms of monastic construction of the 13C and 14C.
The preaching brothers were called Dominicans from the 13C and also Jacobins, much later, in the modern period, in reference to the great convent of Paris located rue Saint-Jacques. Since 1369 the church has housed the relics (first order relics) of Saint Thomas Aquinas, to which it is dedicated. It is also in these buildings that the old university of Toulouse was established for several centuries from its foundation in 1229 until its suppression during the French revolution.
The church convent was considered the most beautiful Dominican church in Christian Europe. It measures 80 meters long by 20 meters wide creating an impressive interior volume. The stone piers are 22 meters high. The palm tree is a masterpiece unique in the world rising to 28 meters in height. The interior is painted in polychrome decor with Toulouse crosses here and there. Stained glass windows inspired by 14C western roses were made by Max Ingrand in 1955. The church was consecrated several times, notably on October 22, 1385, and the return of the relics of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Indeed since 1812, the convent of the Jacobins has been requisitioned to serve as an artillery barracks by order of the Emperor (dictator) Napoléon I. The large nave of the church is divided by floors: the ground floor serves as a stable, on the 1st floor is the dormitory and on the 2nd floor an attic, where oats for the horses are stored. The galleries of the cloister were partly destroyed, the refectory was used as a riding school for the horses, the Saint-Antonin chapel was transformed into a veterinary infirmary. It was not until 1865 that the soldiers left the convent. The City then recovers its property. The church was returned to worship in 1873 and the rest of the buildings housed the students of the Lycée Fermat.(high school), The first major emergency works took place at the beginning of the 20C under the aegis of the Historic Monuments Department, It is now back beautiful again as it should !
The official convent des Jacobins ; https://www.jacobins.toulouse.fr/
The Toulouse tourist office on the Jacobins convent : https://www.toulouse-visit.com/couvent-des-jacobins/toulouse/
The Haute Garonne dept 31 tourist office on the convent des Jacobins : https://www.hautegaronnetourism.com/activites/jacobin-convent/
There you go folks, a must to see in Toulouse. Glad to give you more pictures of this wonderful monument, Again, hope you enjoy the post again on the Convent des Jacobins of Toulouse as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 