Rita Crane Photography: The Tarn at Albi, France
An overcast winter's day in this ancient town ......and the lustrous Tarn River brought a note of tranquility and serene beauty to this treasure of a place and its 1000 year old bridge! The wall in the foreground was formerly part of the Berbie Palace - a fortress built in the 1200's for the Catholic Bishops who were installed in Albi, after the Albigensian Crusade against the so-called heretical sect of Cathars. It is now a fantastic museum dedicated to the art of Toulouse Lautrec who lived and worked in Albi.
The bridge in the foreground "Le Pont Vieux" (Old Bridge) was commissioned in 1035 by the Viscount Trencavel for commercial advantage and mobility. It became a major trading hub from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and for merchants moving from the north to the south. This bridge is largely responsible for the commercial prosperity of the city of Albi in the Middle Ages.
You can read more about Albi here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albi
Quelle belle ville, au bord du Tarn! Meme sous un ciel d'hiver couvert et brumeux, les couleurs chaleureuses et le fleuve lustreux donnaient a cette scene un air de beaute' et de serenite'. Le Pont Vieux au premier plan fut construit vers l'annee 1035.
About the Tarn: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarn_(river)
This is the view from above the Palais de la Berbie that is now the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. About this astonishing medieval fortress, one of the earliest French castles: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_de_la_Berbie.
And in English: france-world-heritage.com/berbie-palace
Rita Crane Photography: The Tarn at Albi, France
An overcast winter's day in this ancient town ......and the lustrous Tarn River brought a note of tranquility and serene beauty to this treasure of a place and its 1000 year old bridge! The wall in the foreground was formerly part of the Berbie Palace - a fortress built in the 1200's for the Catholic Bishops who were installed in Albi, after the Albigensian Crusade against the so-called heretical sect of Cathars. It is now a fantastic museum dedicated to the art of Toulouse Lautrec who lived and worked in Albi.
The bridge in the foreground "Le Pont Vieux" (Old Bridge) was commissioned in 1035 by the Viscount Trencavel for commercial advantage and mobility. It became a major trading hub from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and for merchants moving from the north to the south. This bridge is largely responsible for the commercial prosperity of the city of Albi in the Middle Ages.
You can read more about Albi here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albi
Quelle belle ville, au bord du Tarn! Meme sous un ciel d'hiver couvert et brumeux, les couleurs chaleureuses et le fleuve lustreux donnaient a cette scene un air de beaute' et de serenite'. Le Pont Vieux au premier plan fut construit vers l'annee 1035.
About the Tarn: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarn_(river)
This is the view from above the Palais de la Berbie that is now the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. About this astonishing medieval fortress, one of the earliest French castles: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_de_la_Berbie.
And in English: france-world-heritage.com/berbie-palace