Centre of transportation with a pink hue: old canal, pilgrimage routes and new aeroplane - Canal du Midi 770; Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 868; Gastronomic meal of the French 00437; Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation 01558
What and Why
It is coincidentally appropriate that the modern centre of aviation industry where Airbus are assembled, Toulouse, houses two UNESCO WHS that relates to historic travel or transportation routes: the Canal du Midi which is an important canal that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; and the Routes of Santiago de Compostela, which were the major pilgrimage routes during the Middle Ages.
The city's unique architecture made of pinkish bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname the pink city (French: La Ville Rose)
Toponymy
Toulouse comes from its ancient name Tolosa (Greek: Τολῶσσα, Tolussa), with unknown origin.
See
Canal du Midi
Constructed during the mid-17th century CE, Canal du Midi is considered one of the most important civil construction during the era. With the intention to develop the wheat trade of the country, the project connects the Garonne and hence dissects France, and connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and hence reduces the shipping route from more than 3,500 km to less than 240 km, while preventing unnecessary risk and danger of weather and piracy.
The name Canal du Midi simply means the midday canal in French, which also means colloquially Southern France (French: Midi). The term is comparable to the Italian term Mezzogiorno to indicate Southern Italy or Miazăzi in Romanian which is a synonym for south.
The canal served as the main trade and commercial conduit, especially for wheat and wine, between Western and Southern Europe, until locomotives and land transport eventually took over as the main transportation mode, until today. Some of the technologies involved were quite advanced at its time, for instance the integrated use of tunnels and aqueducts to manoeuvre around undulating topographies, the sophisticated design of dams and waterlocks to navigate around sudden change of altitude.
However maintenance of the canal proved to be a major headache: the canal silted up regularly and the canal had to close every two months to clean up the silt. Moreover weeds, tree derbis also filled up the canal more often than imagined and the trade routes were not as convenient as designed.
Today the canal's function is mainly touristic and recreational, during which we took a cruise along.
Basilica of Saint-Sernin (Basilique Saint-Sernin)
The Basilica of Saint-Sernin (Basilique Saint-Sernin) is actually currently the largest remaining Romanesque building in the world. The church was dedicated to Saint Saturnin or Sernin (Latin: Saturninus) who was one of the seven gospels to preach the bible in France during the 3rd century CE. The church contains his remain until today, although the church was built in the early 11th century CE. It is also this relic that contributed its status as the pilgrim route during the Middle Ages.
The location of the church is along the banks of Canal du Midi.
Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques
The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques, literally meaning God Saint Jacob's Hall, was a former hospital that served Toulouse during the 17th and 18th century CE that sits along the bank of Canal du Midi. Built during the 12th century CE, the building served its last patients in 1986 CE and since then it became the European research centre of telemedicine.
The fact that it served as the main hospital for pilgrims during the Middle Ages constituted its status as UNESCO WHS.
Capitole
The Capitole is the main city hall of Toulouse. The building was erected in the late 12th century CE, and was named and built to represent Toulouse's then wealth and influence. Currently it also houses a grand museum of Toulouse, together with its administrative offices.
Airbus
An unmissable part of the nowadays Toulouse tour is the Airbus tour, where the centre of European aviation is located. Toulouse is the main assembly site of Airbus, especially the jumbo A380. My academic work also took me to a special tour of the factory and I was fortunate to witness the legendary Beluga on a full flight. By the way, photographies prohibited during the tour. They cited that visitors could drop telephones or cameras onto the site and damage the expensive aircraft frame. Crap.
Buy and Do
Clearly one of the main activities is to do the boat ride along Canal du Midi, which cost EUR 7€ per person for a very leisurely one hour ride. One can find the boat station almost everywhere along the canal.
Toulouse is also famous for its violet products: ranging from candy to perfumes.
Eat and Drink
Serrano ham (Jambon serrano)
There are a few local specialties. The first one is Serrano ham (Spanish: jamón) which is probably the best non-Iberico ham available.
Cassoulet
Duck is a regional specialty, and thus many restaurants will offer duck for dinner such as duck confit (canard confit) or the duck's liver (canard foie gras).
Another must-try local specialty is the cassoulet, which is a stew made with white beans, meat, and pork skin.
As in other parts of France, I would say that all restaurants are top-notched. We had a very good and authentic local dinner in Le May. Excellent choice very near our hotel.
Stay
A good stay just a stone's throw from the Capitole, at Crowne Plaza Toulouse.
Getting There and Around
Toulouse is an incredibly walkable and connected city. Most places rare well connected with metro anyway. Enjoy the red and pink architecture as you stroll along. Spend a few days here.
UNESCO Inscriptions
This 360-km network of navigable waterways linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through 328 structures (locks, aqueducts, bridges, tunnels, etc.) is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering in modern times. Built between 1667 and 1694, it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. The care that its creator, Pierre-Paul Riquet, took in the design and the way it blends with its surroundings turned a technical achievement into a work of art.
Santiago de Compostela was the supreme goal for countless thousands of pious pilgrims who converged there from all over Europe throughout the Middle Ages. To reach Spain pilgrims had to pass through France, and the group of important historical monuments included in this inscription marks out the four routes by which they did so.
The workshop organization, or Bauhüttenwesen, appeared in the Middle Ages on the construction sites of European cathedrals. Now, as then, these workshops are home to various trades working in close collaboration. The term Bauhüttenwesen in German refers both to the organization of a workshop network dealing with the construction or restoration of a building and to the workshop itself, as a place of work. Since the end of the Middle Ages, these workshops have formed a supra-regional network extending beyond national borders. The workshops safeguard the traditional customs and rituals of their professions, as well as a wealth of knowledge transmitted across the generations, both orally and in writing. Faced with the progressive shortage of technical skills and in an age of increasing mechanization and cost optimization, the workshops created or re-established in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have become institutions that preserve, transmit and develop traditional techniques and know-how. Their commitment to safeguarding and promoting living heritage, through targeted awareness raising, information and communication measures and close cooperation with shareholders in the field of politics, the church, monument conservation, business and research, can be considered as an example to be adapted and implemented in other contexts worldwide. Through their organization and training system for on-site practice, the workshops could be considered as a model for all types of buildings that need to be built and maintained.
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