Editing Albi (section)

==History==
[[File:Town hall of Albi 01.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.6|The Hôtel de Ville]]
The first human settlement in Albi was in the [[Bronze Age]] (3000–600 [[Before Christ|BC]]). After the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] conquest of [[Gaul]] in 51&nbsp;BC, the town became ''Civitas Albigensium'', the territory of the Albigeois, ''Albiga''. [[Archaeological]] digs have not revealed any traces of Roman buildings, which seems to indicate that Albi was a modest Roman settlement.

In 584, Gregory of Tours reports that the majority of the townsfolk died from [[Plague (disease)|plague]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kohn|first=George C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzRwRmb09rgC|title=Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: From Ancient Times to the Present|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4381-2923-5|pages=128–129|language=en|chapter=Frankish Plagues of the Sixth Century}}</ref>

In 1040, Albi expanded and constructed the ''Pont Vieux'' (Old Bridge). New quarters were built, indicative of considerable urban growth. The city grew rich at this time, thanks to trade and commercial exchanges, and also to the tolls charged to travelers for using the Pont Vieux.

In 1208, the Pope and the French king joined forces to combat the [[Cathars]], who had developed their own version of ascetic Christian dualism, and so a heresy considered dangerous by the dominant Catholic Church. Repression was severe, and many Cathars were burnt at the stake throughout the region. The area, until then virtually independent, was reduced to such a condition that it was subsequently annexed by the French Crown.

After the upheaval of the [[Albigensian Crusade]] against the Cathars, the bishop [[Bernard de Castanet]], in the late 13th century, completed work on the Palais de la Berbie, a Bishops' Palace with the look of a fortress. He ordered the building of the [[Albi Cathedral|cathedral of Sainte-Cécile]] starting in 1282. The town enjoyed a period of commercial prosperity largely due to the cultivation of ''Isatis Tinctoria'', commonly known as [[woad]]. The fine houses built during the [[Renaissance]] bear witness to the vast fortunes amassed by the pastel merchants.

Albi had a small [[Jewish]] community during [[medieval]] times, until it was annihilated in the 1320s [[Shepherds' Crusade (1320)|Shepherds' Crusade]].<ref name="jewishencyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1085-alby-albi|title=ALBY (ALBI)|website=JewishEncyclopedia.com|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> Afterwards, [[Jews]] were only allowed to transit the town by payment, without living in it. In 1967, approximately 70 [[Jews]] lived in Albi, most of them of North-African origin.<ref name="jewishvirtuallibrary">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0001_0_00686.html|website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org|title=Albi|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref>

Albi has conserved its rich architectural heritage which encapsulates the various brilliant periods of its history. Considerable improvement and restoration work has been done, to embellish the old quarters and to give them a new look, in which brick reigns supreme. The Hôtel de Ville, also built in brick, dates back to at least 1682.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00095461}}</ref>