Our Blog - Gaillac, France

We hadn't originally planned to stop at Gaillac on one of our trips but since we hit a few timing issues on one of our trips, we decided to head to the town of Gaillac on the way back to Toulouse. Gaillac has gained a bit of recognition due to the wines that are produced in the region. The local wine of Gaillac, first made almost two thousand years ago, is of two official appellations (AOC). The terroir is made up of clay, limestone, sand, and silex soils. Gaillac receives more sunshine than Bordeaux and is graced by a cool maritime climate. There is at least 1 grape which (we were told) is only grown in the Gaillac area.

The town itself dates back to the 2nd century and was used by the Romans to export wines back to Rome. It was then annihilated by barbarians and finally emerged again as a city in 972. During the religious wars, the "Gaillacois" refused to change their religion and remained Catholics and were chased out of the town by Protestants. They took refuge at Castelnau-de-Montmiral. After the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre on 24 August, 1572, in Paris, the Gaillacois massacred 74 out of the 90 Huguenots in the town.

Our first stop was the Abbey of Saint Michael. The abbey was built by monks in 972, overhanging the Tarn river. It was left in ruins by the wars of religion and rebuilt during the 17th and 18th centuries. You can see from the last 2 pictures how HIGH it is from the level of the river ... can you imagine how long it took to build up those walls back in the 900's???

The interior has really nice ribbing on the ceiling, but really no decoration on the ceiling or between the ribs. It has several bays on each side of the nave, although there are several spaces where there are no bays but a trompe-l'oeil was painted to make it look like a side chapel for symmetry.

I don't have any specific information on this, which is the pulpit, but based on how good shape the bas reliefs are in, we have to believe it is fairly new.

The high altar is a relatively faithful reproduction of the altar of Saint Peter des Chartreux, and dates back to 1785-1790. The second picture is the altar from the back, which Tom thought was interesting since normally, you don't get this nice (unobstructed) view of the altar from the rear.

In Place du Giffoul, we find the covered market, built in the 1840's, up against the side of a medieval house which still has the stair tower and soleillou under the roof. In the middle of the square is a fountain dating from the 16th century, which has 4 bronze figures positioned around a central urn, topped with a cockerel, which represents Silene educating Bacchus.

The Town Hall was constructed on the site of a Capuchin Convent. It was designed by Lebrun in a Neoclassical style.

This is the Hostellerie du Cheval Blanc (White Horse), which dates from the 13th century.

The Church of Saint Pierre underwent major restoration in the 17th and 18th centuries after being half ruined by Protestants (who turned it into a fortress). The front portal, with various niches which are empty today, is one of the most beautiful in the area and dates to the 14th century. The interior is pretty bare with the exception of the high altar and ceiling above it.

This house, the residence of the Pierre de Brens family, dates all the way back to the 13th century. You can see the little courtyard front-right, and the mullioned windows and gargoyles.