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Les Jacobins, Toulouse

Jun 12, 2009

FRENCH FRIDAYS, LES JACOBINS CHURCH, TOULOUSE

A tiny street squeezes around the edge of Fermat’s Lycée and onto Les Jacobins – a rather forlorn, unimpressive pathway for such a grandiose monument. Toulouse has so many historical buildings that you may wonder whether or not this church deserves your time. It does.

Inside the dark brick walls, seven columns rise to the ceiling like palm trees, creating an unexpectedly light and refreshing interior. Geometric stained glass windows glitter on all sides, but the highlight is the mirror encircling the eastern column. Looking into this reflection creates a rushing sensation of falling to a Da Vinci Code-style death.

The Dominicans erected this French Gothic church in 1230, which went on to house the remains of St Thomas Aquinas before becoming military barracks under Napoleon. Today it functions as a church once more. One with enough compassion and imagination to spare its visitors from neck ache.

Inside Jacobin