The Capitole de Toulouse (Occitan: Capitòli de Tolosa; lit.'Capitol of Toulouse'), commonly known as the Capitole, is the heart of the municipal administration and the city hall of the French city of Toulouse. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 1840.[1]
History
Early history of the site
Capitole de Toulouse, rear elevation with le donjon in the foreground
In 1190, the Capitouls (governing magistrates) of Toulouse commissioned the original structures on the site to provide a seat for the government of a province which was growing in wealth and influence. The site was named the Capitole by the town clerk, Pierre Salmon, in 1522 to recall the RomanCapitol.[2] A dungeon tower, known as le donjon, was completed in 1530 and a rennaisance style gateway, designed by Nicolas Bachelier, providing access to the Henri IV courtyard, was completed in 1546.[3]
In the mid-18th century, the capitouls decided to commission a municipal palace which would be unique in France. The site they chose was to the immediate west of le donjon and the site enclosed the Henri IV courtyard. The new building, which was 135 meters (443 ft) long, was designed by Guillaume Cammas in the neoclassical style, built in characteristic pink brick and was completed in 1760.[7]
The design involved a central section of the three bays, which was slightly projected forward, wings of six bays on either side, and a pair of end bays, which were projected forward as pavilions. The central section featured a segmental headed doorway with a keystone flanked by a pair of segmental headed windows on the ground floor, a French door flanked by a pair of tall segmental headed windows on the first floor, and a clock flanked by a pair of shorter segmental headed windows on the second floor. The bays in the central section were flanked by eight Corinthian order columns supporting an entablature and a pediment. The wings and end bays were fenestrated in a similar style and flanked by Corinthian order pilasters. The eight columns in the central section were intended to recall the original eight capitouls.[8] Internally, the principal rooms included Le Grand Consistoire, Le Petit Consistoire, L'Arsenal and Le Salle des Illustres. These rooms exhibited some fine paintings, some of which were destroyed during the French Revolution.[9]
On 24 March 1871, inspired by the establishment of the Paris Commune, a crowd of revolutionary guardsmen stormed the Capitole, seeking the establishment of a similar commune in Toulouse. However, the insurrection only lasted a few days and on 27 March 1871, the revolutionaries left the building peacefully.[11]
^Roschach, Ernest (1905). Histoire graphique de l'ancienne province de Languedoc, tome seizième de l’Histoire générale de Languedoc. Toulouse. p. 405.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Greengrass, Mark (July 1983). "The Anatomy of a Religious Riot in Toulouse in May 1562". The Journal of Ecclesiastical History. 34 (3). Cambridge University Press: 367–391. doi:10.1017/s0022046900037908. S2CID162536257.
^Traill, Thomas Stewart, ed. (1858). "Montmorency, Henri II". The Encyclopaedia Britannica: or, Dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature. Vol. 15 (8 ed.). A. and C. Black. p. 520.
^de Montgailhard, Baron Deszars (1919). La façade actuelle de l'hôtel de ville de Toulouse. Vol. 17. Mémoires de la Société archéologique du Midi de la France. pp. 41–58.
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