Episcopal City of Albi

Albi stands on the Tarn river in south-west France. The promontory above the river was occupied from the Bronze Age, and by the 5th century it was already the seat of a bishop. The Saint-Salvi quarter, recorded from the 10th century, and the Old Bridge (Pont-Vieux), built over the Tarn in the first half of the 11th century, mark the town's early medieval growth. The bridge has seven arches and is more than 150 metres long.

In the 12th century dissenters known as Cathars or Albigenses gained ground in the region and were declared heretics by the Roman Church. After two crusades, in 1208-1209 and 1224-1229, the Church restored its authority by force, and Albi became a city ruled by its bishops as lords. Towards the end of the crusade the bishops began the Palais de la Berbie, a fortress-like residence above the river. Bernard de Castanet, bishop from 1276, started a new cathedral, whose main body was built of local brick between 1282 and 1390.

Sainte-Cécile Cathedral has a single nave 97 metres long with no aisles or transept, and from outside it looks like a fortress of the faith. In the 15th and 16th centuries the bishops Louis I and Louis II of Amboise added a rood screen, statuary and murals, and the cathedral was consecrated on 23 April 1480. The paintings on its walls and vaults cover some 18,500 square metres. The Palais de la Berbie now houses the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, and the city was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2010.