History Overload
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Our Thursday in Toulouse started off pretty slow with everyone sleeping in and relaxing. We all set off for St. Sernin - one of the largest and most complete Romanesque churches in Europe. The original chapel was supposedly built in the 4th century over the grave of the first Bishop of Toulouse who was martyred around 250 A.D. Over the centuries the current basilica-shrine was built up to meet the demands of the public, as the place had become a very important stop for Christian Pilgrims. The current incarnation of the building was begun in the late 11th century.
To a second generation Canadian like myself the concept of a single permanent building, let alone a town/city existing for so long is mind boggling. The oldest standing building in Alberta was erected in 1861 - Father Lacombe Chapel in St. Albert. How is that for some perspective?
Our next stop was Muse St. Raymond - literally right next to the basilica. I think at one time it was part of the abbey cloisters. So in keeping with our current theme, the main exhibit of the museum focused on what was found while the city was building the second metro / subway line. In the process of digging the long tunnels the crews came across artifacts and structures from the prehistoric periods right through to the late 18th century. Starting with 25 million yr old fossils; findings from the earliest human settlement; foundations of the antique city; traces of a forgotten pottery workshop; the remains of a convent destroyed during the French Revolution and a forgotten medieval graveyard complete with carved stone sarcophagi gives you a brief glimpse at times and lives that is difficult to imagine.
Oh yes and on the top floors there are exhibits of roman statuary and mosaics from when Toulouse was essentially a roman outpost.
To a second generation Canadian like myself the concept of a single permanent building, let alone a town/city existing for so long is mind boggling. The oldest standing building in Alberta was erected in 1861 - Father Lacombe Chapel in St. Albert. How is that for some perspective?
Our next stop was Muse St. Raymond - literally right next to the basilica. I think at one time it was part of the abbey cloisters. So in keeping with our current theme, the main exhibit of the museum focused on what was found while the city was building the second metro / subway line. In the process of digging the long tunnels the crews came across artifacts and structures from the prehistoric periods right through to the late 18th century. Starting with 25 million yr old fossils; findings from the earliest human settlement; foundations of the antique city; traces of a forgotten pottery workshop; the remains of a convent destroyed during the French Revolution and a forgotten medieval graveyard complete with carved stone sarcophagi gives you a brief glimpse at times and lives that is difficult to imagine.
Oh yes and on the top floors there are exhibits of roman statuary and mosaics from when Toulouse was essentially a roman outpost.
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