Albi

Albi
View of Albi featuring the Sainte-Cécile cathedral and the Pont Vieux (old bridge).
Albi
Location within Occitanie region  Albi
Coordinates: 43°55′44″N 2°08′47″E / 43.9289°N 2.1464°E / 43.9289; 2.1464Coordinates: 43°55′44″N 2°08′47″E / 43.9289°N 2.1464°E / 43.9289; 2.1464
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Tarn
Arrondissement	Albi
Intercommunality	Albigeois
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Stéphanie Guiraud-Chaumeil
Area1	44.26 km2 (17.09 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	49,231
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	81004 / 81000
Elevation	130–308 m (427–1,010 ft) (avg. 169 m or 554 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Albi (French pronunciation: ​[albi]; Occitan: Albi [ˈalβi]) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department. It is located on the River Tarn, c. 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called Albigensians (French: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), Occitan: albigés -esa(s)). It was the seat of the Archbishop of Albi and is the seat of the Diocese of Albi. The episcopal city, situated in the center of the actual city, around the cathedral Sainte-Cécile, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2010.

Albi is the seat of 6 cantons, covering 18 communes, with a total population of 67,729.

The first human settlement in Albi was in the Bronze Age (3000-600 BC). After the Roman conquest of Gaul in 51 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.