Palais de la Berbie

The Palais de la Berbie is a former urban castle of the bishops of Albi, built in 1228 and 1308, which stands in the French commune of Albi, in the south-west of France.

Built during the second half of the 13th century, under the episcopate of three successive bishops, its construction took some fifty years. Intended as a residence of prestige by Durand de Beaucaire, it became a fortress under Bernard II and Bernard III, in the face of the hostility of the population of Albi, both economic and religious, with the Cathar heresy. It was subsequently remodelled several times by the bishops of the city between the 16th and 18th centuries, gaining in comfort without entirely losing the appearance of an austere fortress.

It was listed as a monument historique in 1862 for the building and in 1965 for isolated interior elements: ceilings, chimneypiece, panelling... Since 2010 it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the medieval architectural ensemble of the episcopal city of Albi. It neighbours the cathedral of Sainte-Cécile, for which it tested certain architectural techniques. It shares with the cathedral and many buildings of the old town the red brique foraine.

At the time of the law separating Church and State, the palace was seized. Since 1924 it has housed the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, devoted to the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, a native of Albi. It holds the most important collection of the artist's works.

Remarkable terracotta pavings dating from the origins of the building were found in the 2000s; research is not finished and other architectural treasures are probably still lying dormant. In the heart of the episcopal city, free access to its gardens makes it a place for a walk with an unobstructed view of the right bank of the Tarn and its hanging gardens, or of the medieval Pont Vieux, other sites forming part of the UNESCO-listed zone.

Machine-translated from “Palais de la Berbie” on the French Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Palais de la Berbie ranks #2,502 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #196 of the 524 mapped in France. Founded 1228, it is older than 74% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 860 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,767 times in the last 60 days, more than 64% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how France compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia (in French) ↗