Albi facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids

Albi

Prefecture and commune

Albi featuring the Sainte-Cécile cathedral and the Pont Vieux (old bridge) over the river Tarn.

Coat of arms

Albi

Location in France

Albi

Location in Occitanie

Country

Albi-1
Albi-2
Albi-3
Albi-4

Intercommunality

Albigeois

Area

44.26 km² (17.09 sq mi)

Population

(2016)

49,024

• Density

1,107.64/km² (2,868.8/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+01:00 (CET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+02:00 (CEST)

INSEE/Postal code

81004 /81000

Elevation

130–308 m (427–1,010 ft)
(avg. 169 m or 554 ft)

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Official name

Episcopal City of Albi

Criteria

Cultural: iv, v

Inscription

2010 (34th Session)

Area

19.47 ha

Buffer zone

64.09 ha

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Albi (Occitan: Albi) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, in the Occitanie region. It is on the side of the Tarn river, about 85 km (53 mi) to the northeast of Toulouse.

It is the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. The cathedral and the part of the city around it (the Episcopal City) was made a World Heritage Sites in 2010.

History
Geography
- Climate
Population
Administration
Cathedral
Museum
People from Albi
Education
Sister cities
Gallery
Related pages
Images for kids
See also

History

Close-up of the cathedral's bell tower

The first human settlement in Albi was in the Bronze Age (3000-600 BC). After the Roman conquest of Gaul in 51 BC, the town became Civitas Albigensium, the city of the Albigeois.

The Cathars had their main centre at Albi and so they were known also as Albigens after the city. The Cathar movement was a branch of Christianity which was persecuted in the Middle Ages. Because of this, the city was almost completely destroyed in a crusade between 1209 and 1229. Since 1678, the city is the seat of an archbishop. Since 1790, it is the capital city of the Tarn department.

Geography

Albi is in southern France, in the centre of the Tarn department. The Tarn flows through the city and splits it in two; the historical city is on the left side of the river. Several small rivers, tributaries of the Tarn, flows also through the city.

It has an area of 44.26 km² (17.09 sq mi) and its average altitude is 169 m (554 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 174 m (571 ft).

Albi and its neighboring *communes*

The commune is at 85 km (53 mi) northeast of Toulouse and the closest cities are Castres, Toulouse, Mazamet, Graulhet, Lavaur, Gaillac, Montauban, Rodez et Carmaux. It is surrounded by the communes Lescure-d'Albigeois to the north; Saint-Juéry to the northeast; Cunac and Cambon to the east; Fréjairolles to the southeast; Puygouzon to the south; Le Sequestre, Carlus and Saliès to the southwest; Terssac, Marssac-sur-Tarn, Florentin, Rouffiac, Cagnac-les-Mines, Castelnau-de-Lévis.

Climate

The climate of Albi is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average temperature for the year in Albi is 13.4 °C (56.1 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 22.3 °C (72.1 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 5.4 °C (41.7 °F).

The highest recorded temperature in Albi is 41.4 °C (106.5 °F), which was recorded in August. The lowest recorded temperature in Albi is −20.4 °C (−4.7 °F), which was recorded in January.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Albi is 1,023.6 mm (40.3 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is November with 101.6 mm (4.0 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in).

Climate data for Albi, Tarn, France
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	9.4 (48.9)	11.2 (52.2)	14.7 (58.5)	17.4 (63.3)	21.6 (70.9)	25.5 (77.9)	28.7 (83.7)	28.4 (83.1)	24.7 (76.5)	19.7 (67.5)	13.2 (55.8)	9.8 (49.6)	18.7 (65.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.4 (41.7)	6.5 (43.7)	9.3 (48.7)	11.8 (53.2)	15.9 (60.6)	19.6 (67.3)	22.3 (72.1)	22.0 (71.6)	18.5 (65.3)	14.6 (58.3)	9.1 (48.4)	6.0 (42.8)	13.4 (56.1)
Average low °C (°F)	1.4 (34.5)	1.7 (35.1)	3.8 (38.8)	6.2 (43.2)	10.2 (50.4)	13.6 (56.5)	15.8 (60.4)	15.6 (60.1)	12.3 (54.1)	9.5 (49.1)	4.9 (40.8)	2.1 (35.8)	8.1 (46.6)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	91.9 (3.62)	79.8 (3.14)	78.7 (3.10)	90.8 (3.57)	95.7 (3.77)	77.5 (3.05)	65.6 (2.58)	75.0 (2.95)	74.1 (2.92)	93.4 (3.68)	101.3 (3.99)	99.1 (3.90)	1,022.9 (40.27)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

Population

The inhabitants of Albi are known, in French, as Albigeois (women: Albigeoises).

The city of Albi has a population, in 2014, of 49,531; its population density is of 1,119 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Albi

EasyTimeline 1.90

Timeline generation failed: More than 10 errors found Line 2: id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) - Data expected for command 'Colors', but line is not indented. Line 2: id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) - Invalid statement. No '=' found. Line 3: id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) - Invalid statement. No '=' found. Line 4: id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) - Invalid statement. No '=' found. Line 5: id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) - Invalid statement. No '=' found. Line 12: ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 - Scale attribute 'gridcolor' invalid. Unknown color 'darkgrey'. Specify command 'Color' before this command. Line 13: ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2500 start:0 - Scale attribute 'gridcolor' invalid. Unknown color 'lightgrey'. Specify command 'Color' before this command. Line 14: BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo - BackgroundColors definition invalid. Attribute 'canvas': unknown color 'sfondo'. Specify command 'Color' before this command. Line 16: bar:1968 text:1968 - Data expected for command 'BarData', but line is not indented. Line 16: bar:1968 text:1968 - Invalid statement. No '=' found. Line 17: bar:1975 text:1975 - Invalid statement. No '=' found.

Administration

Albi is the prefecture of the Tarn department since 1797. It is also the capital of four Cantons:

Albi-1, formed with a part of Albi (15,740 inhabitants) (2014)
Albi-2, formed with a part of Albi and 5 other communes (18,332 inhabitants) (2014)
Albi-3, formed with a part of Albi and 8 other communes (18,145 habitants) (2014)
Albi-4, formed with a part of Albi and 2 other communes (19,064 inhabitants) (2014)

It is part of the intercommunality Albigeois (French: Communauté d'agglomération de l'Albigeois).

Cathedral

Episcopal City of Albi *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Albi01.jpg Sainte-Cécile cathedral in Albi
Country	France
Type	Cultural
Criteria	(iv)(v)
Reference	1337
Region **	Europe
Inscription history
Inscription	2010 (34th Session)
Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

There is the St. Cecile´s cathedral worth seeing. It is built like a fortress, in a gothic style. The cathedral is built in a very special style. Inside, there are frescoes from the Renaissance, worth a visit.

The cathedral has walls which are up to 6 m (20 ft) thick. This makes it the biggest brick building in the world.

Museum

There is a museum dedicated to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in the city. De Touluose-Lautrec was born in the city. There are also paintings of other people in the museum.