Capitole of Toulouse

History

Construction of the unit

The history of this building begins in 1190 when the consuls of Toulouse seek a building to lodge the common house. They have ambition to build an administrative city surrounded by ramparts at the 13th century. But it is only at the 17th century which the palate which we know today is built by the Capitoul S. the name of this common house refers to the antique Capitole, legendary Temple dedicated to Jupiter, and equipped with a large staircase. He points out especially the magistrates who made it build, since in Latin, Chapitre says Capitulum.

The site is not randomly selected. It is located far from the castle comtal at the limit of the city and the borough of Saint-Sernin against a tower unused of the old Gallo-Roman rampart. The capitouls acquire of many buildings and grounds around the common house in order to gather the administrative services, the files, the prison, the meeting rooms and of reception. AT the 14th century, the common house forms a bored strengthened whole of doors corresponding to the surface of current Capitole and the public garden.

At the 17th century, the capitouls want to build a municipal palate unique in France. Its construction will last nearly two hundred years. The frontage of Capitolium was built in 1750 during ten years within Guillaume Cammas. The frontage was at the covered origin of a white paint. It was withdrawn in 1883 by scraping. In 1974 then in 1987 and 1994, the frontages are renovated by sanding as well as the blazons.

The eight columns of the marble frontage of Caunes-Minervois symbolize the eight first capitouls. Into this time, Toulouse was divided into 8 districts: " Capitoulats" , each one managed by a capitoul. The purpose of this frontage was to hide the heteroclite whole of buildings which the magistrates did not manage to harmonize. It gives on the Place of Capitole and protects the court Henri IV. As it recalls a commemorative plaque, it is in this court that the duke of Montmorency, enemy of Richelieu, was decapitated in 1632.

Contemporary modifications

In 1873, Eugene Purple-the-Duke made build on the Donjon a typical Beffroi of the north of the France. Jean Calas was questioned in this keep, which acted as municipal files a long time. The other buildings of the Moyen-âge were shaven. Only remain the court Henri IV and the gate, drawn by Nicolas Bachelier. Opened to the public, the Room of Famous makes it possible to contemplate the masterpieces of the Toulouse artists of the 19th century. Today, Capitole does not indicate only the Mairie. It is also the name of the opera residing within the building, and that of the symphony orchestra of the city occurring with the Halle with the Grains.

Description of the old buildings

1 - Frontage of Capitole
2 - Court Henri IV
3 - Common Weight and the Face
4 - Rand Consistory
5 - Vault of the consistories
6 - octogonal room
7 - Home of the ecu
8 - Keep of Capitole
9 - Tower of the screws
10 - Turn Charlemagne
11 - prison of the men
12 - Arsenal
13 - Weight of oil
14 - Small Versailles

Behind the frontage of Capitole (1), various buildings existed during the reign of Capitouls.

Structure

Exterior facade

The capitole is built out of calcareous stone and bricks which were hidden a long time by white painting according to the plans of Guillaume Cammas. The building consists of two stages, of three crowned fore-parts of pediments and a Entablement supporting a Attique. The frontage is bored of forty-and-a Fenêtre S decorated with wrought iron balconies. Each balcony is decorated with escutcheons: two (sixth and sixteenth balconies) have the coloured escutcheons of the weapons of the city, the others represent the weapons of the Capitoul S in exercise at the time of construction. These blazons were forged by Bernard Ortet. But in 1760, during the installation of the escutcheons, the capitouls were not any more the same ones and refused to pose the weapons of their predecessors. The blazons were placed in the roofs of Capitole and were replaced by those of the capitouls in place. During several years, with each change of the capitouls, the blazons knew the same fate until in 1770. In 1793, the revolutionists tore off the blazons places from there but forgot those hidden in the roofs. One found them in 1827 to position them back on the balconies. In 1988, they are replaced by copies because of their state of degradation.

In addition to the columns, the building is bored of a surmounted porch of a triangular pediment. It was modified with the liking of the modes in place in the country. It carries today and since 1871, the seal of the French Republic, " R.F." on bottom gold. But at the beginning, it carried the effigy of Louis XV, then that of the goddess of Freedom, the effigy of Napoleon i, then that of Louis XVIII marble, then the currency " Freedom order public".

The pediment is surmounted several statues which are copies of works of the sculptor Louis Avoiding. They represent in the center a Allégorie of Justice and Force with two angels supporting a escutcheon. Above the town hall on the left, a representation of Clémence Isaure and Pallas is, while on right-hand side with the top of the theater is a representation of the Tragedy and Comedy. The original sculptures were replaced in 1988 and were put at the shelter.

Lastly, a marble plate carrying the inscriptions " Capitolium" under the pediment to 1759 goes back and replaced the old inscription " Capitolium Tolosanum".

The court Henri IV

One reaches it by the gate of the town hall which bores the principal frontage. It is surrounded by two galleries built between 1602 and 1607 within Pierre Souffron. They replaced two turns and a too cumbersome guardroom to preserve them during the construction of the frontage. The galleries are the oldest parts of Capitole.

The name of this court comes owing to the fact that the capitouls decide to make build a statue in honor of the king Henri IV in exchange of its money to accelerate work delayed by the members of the Parliament of Toulouse who do not adhere to all this work. The statue of Henri IV out of polychrome marble of Thomas Hurtamat going back to 1607 is installed above the gate of Nicolas Bachelier. But, it is replaced between 1799 and 1800 by a Freedom then finds its place in 1815. It consists of a body in black armor and a crowned white head of green bay-trees placed in a niche between two oculi and of the blazons of the capitouls. Under the statue, an inscription dating from the Révolution remains: " Living, the whole people liked it. He cried it when he was removed. The posterity will not cease liking it of a love pieux.".

The gate of Nicolas Bachelier is a door in semicircular arch. With the top of the arc, Pallas is the other name of the goddess Minerve and on the left a winged figure carries a stick on which a Chouette and since the restoration of 1873 was posed, a Croix of Languedoc. On the right, another winged figure is which holds up a laurel wreath and a flowered branch.

On the ground of this court, a sealed flagstone recalls the execution by decapitation of Henri II of Montmorency on October 30th 1632 on order of Richelieu and Louis XIII. It was guilty to have taken part in the rising of the South against the royal capacity.

Interior of the palate

The porch crosses Capitole of the place while passing by the court Henri IV to the Charles-of-Gaulle garden where the keep of Capitole is. It was built and decorated by Nicolas Bachelier in 1546.

A large staircase gives access the first stage of Capitole. This staircase was rebuilt in 1674 by Rivals and is decorated of a painting of Jean-Paul Laurens of the 19th century. It represents the first distribution of the flowers to the floral Jeux of Toulouse on May 3rd, 1324 in an orchard of Augustines. The jury is composed of seven Troubadour S of the company of the Merry Knowledge which rewarded Arnaud Vidal for Castelnaudary for his poem with the Virgin. A representation of the triumph of Clémence Isaure made by Jean-Paul Laurens is also painted with the ceiling.

The first stage is a gallery of pageantry which consists of several rooms:

the room Gervais of the name of the painter Paul Gervais who decorated the room with Allégorie S with the Love. This room was used as wedding hall. Three tables represent the love at 20 years, 40 years and 60 years, another represents the island of Cythère.
the room of the municipal council decorated with paintings of Paul Gervais representing of the monuments of the city and of its area and the pastoral scenes. A painting of Andre Roucolle ( the entry of louis XI in Toulouse ) and of Edouard Debate-Ponsan ( Molière and Goudouli in the court of a Languedocien house ) decorate also the room. Busts carved by Marc Arcis of which that of Raymond IV and kings Visigoths are present in niches. A pink marble plate lists the whole of the mayors of the city since 1790.
the room Henri Martin decorated with ten giant fabrics of Henri Martin. Most known is the dreamers and represents Jean Jaurès in the middle of celebrities of which the painter himself at the edge of the the Garonne. It is also decorated of three busts of Toulouse figures: the sculptor and architect Nicolas Graduate, the mathematician Pierre de Fermat and the lawyer Jacques Cujas. This room named room of the Lost Steps which were used to expose most famous capitouls.
the room of famous long the 60 meters along the frontage of Capitole is classified historic building since 1994. The room is decorated works of Jean-Paul Laurens, Benjamin Constant, Jean-Andre Rixens, Paul Gervais and Paul Pujol. It is used today as room of reception for the host of mark of the town of Toulouse and for the grooms. It was built in 1892 with a metal carcass roughcast out of cement with transverse ribs without carrying role which serves to decrease the effect of bulge as the central part. The columns are in stucco and painted in false marble and the walls are painted and altered by Paul Pujol which took as a starting point the gallery of the Palais Farnèse of Rome. One can quote some tables like the defense of Toulouse against Simon de Montfort of Jean-Paul Laurens and the entry in Toulouse of the urban pope II of Benjamin Constant. This room is devoted to the glory of Toulouse as imagined in 1900.

Keep of Capitole

Built at the time of the 16th century, the Keep is the old Tower of the Files or Turn of the Consistories which dates from the time when Capitouls managed the city. The purpose of this construction was to reinforce the rampart of defense of the Villeneuve door and to put at the shelter the files of the city. it was built in four years by Pierre de Naves then Laurent Clary. In 1557, an arsenal or room of the Artillery is built beside the keep. The keep is restored by Purple-the-Duke between 1873 and 1887 because it threatened to crumble. He adds during this restoration a belfry Flemish (out of slate) with a pinnacle very original in a city where on the frontages express brick and on the roofs tiles typical of the style Southerner. Today this building is the Tourist bureau of the town of Toulouse, one finds thus there books, charts, leaflets, as well as many information concerning the area the Midday-Pyrenees.

It consists of a stage called Upper House where the files are preserved until in 1946 and of one rez-of-fitted called Lower House or room of the Petit Consistory which was used as meeting room in Capitouls. It had during more than two centuries a statue called " Ram Tholosa" holding with a hand a Wind vane and other escutcheons of the city. It was dismounted and restored in 1827 then exposed vis-a-vis the Halle with the Grains in 1834 on the Dupuy column.

Theater of Capitole

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