Our Blog - Villefranche de Rouergue, France

Another of our lists is the 100 Best Detours in France, on this list was the town of Villefranche de Rouergue. Villefranche is one of the largest bastides in France and one of the best preserved. It has a long and interesting history. When the Capetians took power over the county of Toulouse by the marriage of Alphonse de Poitiers with Jeanne de Toulouse, daughter of Earl Raymond VII, the former administrative capital of Rouergue was considered too faithful to the old Raymondine dynasty. In order to break the old allegiances, Alphonse de Poitiers decided to create a new city for the seat of his administration on the right bank of the Aveyron River, only a few kilometers away. And with that, the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue was founded in 1252. Being very much a "planned" city, it was built on a grid plan, with right-angle streets surrounding a central square.

We started at the Neo-Classical style Hôtel de Ville, or Town Hall, constructed in 1861. The pediment at the top gives an idea of the original use of the building, which was the Palais de Justice, or Courthouse.

The Bridge of the Consuls was built in 1321, with 3 stone arches in what is called a dos_d’âne or "donkey back" shape. They use the same "dos_d’âne" term for a speed bump, and you can somewhat see the same shape with the bridge as a speed bump. It originally had two towers with a drawbridge, prohibiting access to the city when needed. The bridge leads directly to Rue de la République, which is the main street through the heart of the city.

As with many theaters built in the late 19th century, the decor (both inside and out), is neo-Renaissance and is modeled on an Italian theater. The façade has pilasters, columns, masks, garlands of flowers, and Greek friezes.

Looking up Rue de la République as it goes into Place Notre Dame, the central square of the city.

And now in Place Notre Dame, The central square is surrounded by arcades surmounted by Gothic or Renaissance mansions. Most of the houses in the square were occupied by merchants. The store, behind which was storage space or a courtyard, opened on the street. The goods were arranged on stalls that cutlery protected from heat, cold or rain. There was a huge fire here in 1497 and so the houses that encircle the square date from the very end of the 15th century/early 16th century.

One of the mansions on the square is the Maison Gaubert, which dates from the end of the 15th century. In the middle section of this half-timbered is a mullioned window, then beneath that is a bunch of grapes, and then a nicely decorated porch over the main door.

Maison Armand also dates from the end of the 15th century. The main features of this house are the 2 sets of mullioned windows. The windows on the 1st floor (the lower set) are highly-decorated with what looks like twisted branches or twisted rope. Those on the upper floor mimic the main style but have more conventional plant ornamentation.

The Dardenne house sits just a little back from the main square, so there is no real façade to see. Rather, the only thing you can really view is the courtyard. The Renaissance residence was built in the 1540s for Jean Dardenne, a copper merchant and consul of the city. The courtyard was designed to look very Italian Renaissance, in an attempt to impress his colleagues and best customers. You can the Italian-style pediment over a doorway, as well as several smiling busts of Italian couples.

Probably the main historical monument in town is the Notre Dame Collegiate Church. Construction was begun in 1260, just a few years after the founding of the bastide itself. However, it was interrupted several times (the black plague in 1348, the Hundred years war from 1337 to 1453, and a fire in 1497), with the work finally being completed at the end of the 15th century. Due to the length of time that it took to finish, there are several different forms of Gothic architecture here: the transept and the nave are in Southern Gothic (popular in the early 13th century), the choir is Rayonnant Gothic (popular from 1240-1350), and the large doorway and bell tower porch is Flamboyant Gothic (popular 1350 to early 16th century). The imposing 190-feet-tall bell tower porch dominates the Notre Dame square, and you can definitely see the Flamboyant Gothic style in the decoration.

The interior has the main nave with the typical tall, thin columns going up to ribbed vaults, that are very Gothic in nature. Also the side chapels, with their pointed arches, are very typical Gothic. Notice that there is almost no decoration on the walls.

The oak choir stalls, carved in the 15th century, are the work of a master woodworker named André Sulpice.

I have no information on the actual altar, which to me seems much more recent than the rest of the church. There are quite a few churches that have both the original altar (normally much further back, behind the choir stalls) and then a more modern altar in front of the altar and much closer to where the parishioners sit during services.

The only windows that I took a picture of was this set, which honors Sainte Emilie de Rodat. She was born nearby in 1787 to a noble and wealthy family. In 1816, she founded a school in Villefranche-de-Rouergue for orphans and poor girls. She was canonized in 1950.

On the route leading the pilgrims from Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, the bastide of Villefranche-de-Rouergue was a popular stop for those going through the Pyrenees. Here we have the former chapel of Saint Jacques from the 15th century that was used to receive the pilgrims that arrived here. While many churches are self-standing, this one is totally enclosed, with houses on both sides. The façade is fairly plain other than the arched entrance gate and the wooden entrance door, decorated in the flamboyant Gothic style. On the interior, it is a single-nave chapel and you can see traces of the original paintings on the walls, that have been cleaned as part of a restoration project.

The Fountain of Griffoul, was built in 1336 by the consuls of the city, and consists of a limestone tank adorned with various characters. It is fed by a natural spring and the villagers would come here with their water jugs and fill them up.