Moissac
| Moissac | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| region | Occitania | |
| Department | Tarn-et-Garonne | |
| Arrondissement | Castelsarrasin | |
| Canton | Moissac (main town) | |
| Community association | Terres des Confluences | |
| Coordinates | 44 ° 6 ′ N , 1 ° 5 ′ E | |
| height | 59-199 m | |
| surface | 85.95 km 2 | |
| Residents | 13,039 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 152 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 82200 | |
| INSEE code | 82112 | |
| Website | Community website | |
The municipality of Moissac is located in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitania region in southwestern France . It is the capital of the canton of Moissac in the arrondissement of Castelsarrasin . With 13,039 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), the city is a regional center of tourism and one of the most important cultural and historical sites on the French Way of St. James, Via Podiensis .
Geography and traffic
The city is located on the right bank of the Tarn River , about four kilometers above its confluence with the Garonne . Moissac is also accessed by the Canal latéral à la Garonne (German: Garonne-Seitenkanal ), which crosses the Tarn on an imposing canal bridge. The closest major French cities are Toulouse (63 km) in the southeast, Bordeaux (156 km) in the northwest and Montpellier (230 km) in the southeast.
The closest international airport is Toulouse Blagnac International Airport . The Moissac SNCF train station is on the Bordeaux – Sète line , while the nearest TGV connection is in Montauban . Moissac is connected to the French trunk road network via the A62 Toulouse- Nord - Bordeaux and exit 9 (Castelsarrasin).
history
The first foundation of the Abbey of Saint Peter is said to have been around the year 500 by the Merovingian king Clovis . However, this could not be proven by science. It was not until the middle of the 7th century that it was first established by St. Didier (the bishop of Cahors ). It took place during the conquest of the Arabs and Normans. In the 13th century the abbey was run by abbots who excel as great builders (Raymond de Montpezat and Bertrand de Montaigu). In the 15th century, the monastery experienced a new, large-scale construction phase in which the Gothic part of the abbey church was created. In 1626, after almost 1,000 years, the Benedictine monks left the abbey as part of the secularization and were replaced by the Augustinians .
The Hundred Years War , during which Moissac was occupied twice by the English, and the Huguenot Wars severely affected the abbey and city. During the French Revolution in 1792, the monastery's archives and art treasures were looted or destroyed. In the middle of the 19th century, the abbey barely escaped complete destruction, because the cloister and convent were to give way to the construction of the Bordeaux - Sète railway line . It is thanks to a monument protection initiative that the plans are not carried out.
The famous chronicle ( Chronicon Moissiacense ) of the Benedictine monastery Moissac, which is also of importance for German history, is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris .
Way of St. James ( Via Podiensis )
From a cultural and historical point of view, Moissac is, next to Conques , the most important station of the Via Podiensis . There were a number of pilgrimage hostels in the medieval city and the sick were cared for in the monastery hospice . The actual task of the monastery was the spiritual care of the pilgrims by celebrating masses and processions in honor of St. Jacob . Today there are four stage hostels (French: Gîte d'étape ), hotels and private rooms (French: Chambre d'hôte ), as well as a campsite and a tourist information center in the city for pilgrims . The path follows the Canal latéral à la Garonne for a while , and then crosses the Garonne at Auvillar . The character of the landscape has now completely changed and is shaped by the water and river meadows. The route D813 - D11 leads to Auvillar as a road connection .
Attractions
- Former Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre de Moissac , whose cloister (1059–1131) and portal (1110–1131) have Romanesque sculptures that are among the European masterpieces of their time.
- The 356 meter long canal bridge over the Tarn, built in 1845, enables the Canal latéral à la Garonne to cross the Tarn. Together with the Canal du Midi , it forms a waterway from the Atlantic ( Bordeaux ) to the Mediterranean ( Sète ). Today it is no longer important for inland shipping, but it is used as a tourist waterway.
Abbey from the south
Cloister in the abbey
Detailed view of the cloister
Detailed view of the capitals
Bridge over the Tarn near Moissac
Moissac and the Tarn River
Garonne side canal in Moissac
Personalities
- Pierre Blaise (1952–1975), actor
- Caroline Costa (* 1996), singer and television presenter
- Christophe Rinero (* 1973), racing cyclist
Twin town
- Astorga - Spain ( Province of León )
literature
- Bettina Forst: French Way of St. James. From Le Puy-en-Velay to Roncesvalles. All stages - with variants and height profiles. Bergverlag Rother, Munich (recte: Ottobrunn) 2007, ISBN 978-3-7633-4350-8 ( Rother hiking guide ).
- Bert Teklenborg: Cycling along the Camino de Santiago. From the Rhine to the western end of Europe. (Cycling guide, route planner). 3rd revised edition. Publishing House Tyrolia, Innsbruck 2007, ISBN 978-3-7022-2626-8 .
- Rainer Straub: The singing stones from Moissac. Deciphering the mysterious programs in one of the most beautiful cloisters in Europe. Verlag Anton Pustet, Salzburg 2009. ISBN 978-3-7025-0611-7 .
Web links
- [0] ( Memento from January 31, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) [1] - Pictures from Moissac and the Camino de Santiago
- Office de Tourisme (French)
- Moissac in detail
- Along the Via Podiensis
Individual evidence
- ↑ Congregational information on annuaire-mairie.fr (French). Retrieved on January 21, 2010
← Previous location: Durfort-Lacapelette 15.5 km | Moissac | Next town: Malause 11.5 km →