- published: 07 Apr 2014
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Coordinates: 44°01′05″N 1°21′21″E / 44.0181°N 1.3558°E / 44.0181; 1.3558
Montauban (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃.to.bɑ̃]; Montalban in Occitan) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Toulouse.
The town, built mainly of a reddish brick, stands on the right bank of the Tarn River at its confluence with the Tescou.
Montauban is the second oldest (after Mont-de-Marsan) of the bastides of southern France. Its foundation dates from 1144 when Alphonse Jourdain, count of Toulouse, granted it a liberal charter. The inhabitants were drawn chiefly from Montauriol, a village which had grown up around the neighbouring monastery of St Théodard.
In the 13th century the town suffered much from the ravages of the Albigensian war and from the Inquisition, but by 1317 it had recovered sufficiently to be chosen by John XXII as the head of a diocese of which the basilica of St Théodard became the cathedral.