Toulouse

Toulouse, a French town, clef-lieu of the department of Haute-Garonne, situated on the Garonne, 160 miles S.E. of Bordeaux. Three bridges, one of which (the Pont Neuf) is a handsome structure of seven arches dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, connect it with the suburb of St. Cyprien. On the E. and N. are the Canal du Midi, connecting the Garonne with the Mediterranean. The greater part of the town consists of narrow, ill-paved streets, but, there are some fine mansions of the 16th and 17th centuries. The principal buildings are the cathedral, the large church of St. Sernin (part of which dates from 1096), the Capitole, or town hall, and the Musee, which contains a good collection of antiquities. The university ranks third amongst those in France. The manufactures include silk and woollen stuffs, leather, steam-engines, and brandy. Toulouse, the Roman Tolosa, became the capital of the Visigothic kingdom, and was afterwards ruled by Counts, who were practically independent from the 10th to the 13th century; but on the death of Joan, daughter of Raymond VII., in 1271, his territory was incorporated in the dominions of the French sovereign.