Castres

Castres (Castras in Occitan) is a town and commune of Languedoc in south-western France. It is the capital of an arrondissement in the départment of Tarn, itself in the région of Midi-Pyrénées.

Monuments and museums

Castres is intersected from north to south by the Agout River. The river is fringed by old houses the upper stories of which project over its waters.

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The church of Saint Benoît, once the cathedral of Castres, and the most important of the churches of Castres today, dates only from the 17th and 18th centuries. The city hall occupies the former bishop's palace, designed in the 17th century by famous architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart (the architect of Versailles), and with gardens designed by Le Nôtre (the famous designer of the gardens in Versailles). The Romanesque tower beside it (tour Saint Benoît) is the only survival of the old Benedictine abbey. The town possesses some old mansions from the 16th and 17th century, of which the Hôtel de Nayrac, of the Renaissance, is of most interest.

Related Topics:
Jules Hardouin-Mansart - Versailles - Le Nôtre - Romanesque - Renaissance

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Castres possesses the renowned Goya Museum, created in 1840, which contains the largest collection of Spanish paintings in France: 28,000 visitors every year. A Jaurès Museum was also opened in 1954 in the house where Jean Jaurès was born in 1859: 10,000 visitors every year.

Related Topics:
Goya - France - Jean Jaurès

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