river boat

RIVER BOAT
From town center to Gourjade Park
« Le Miredames » is made of wood and
modeled on the former river diligences
of the 17th and 18th Centuries, wich
were drawn by horses. It was put into
service on July the 14th 1990.
Its framework is made of oak and its hull
of pine. Its dimensions : 15.30 m long
and 4.36 m wide at the level of the master beam. The flat-bottomed hull has a
shallow draught : 60 cm with a full load.
The barge can hold up to 60 passengers
on board with 2 crew membres ; when
empty, it weights 6.8 T. It is propelled by
two 25 HP engines..
L’Agout is a tributary of the Tarn, wich
has its source in the Espinouse Mountains.
It is the domain of numerous animals :
ducks, moorhens and grey herons,
wixh ssometimes come and disturb the
silence. Coypus, introduced in France in
1955 for their fur, have dug large holes
on the river banks.
There are beautiful specimens of trees
on both banks : oak, poplar, maple,
beech, ash and willow.
The embankments, reinforced by wooden weatherboarding, were designed in
the 19th Century by «sand fishermen»
who in bygone days, could be seen
coming down the current on their small
boats, loaded with heavy cargo.
Gourjade Castle is on the right bank.
Destroyed during the Religious Wars, it
was rebuilt in the 17th Century.
The Gourjade estate, bought by the
town of Castres in 1978, is today, a park
with 53 hectares of natural environment
devoted to walks and leisure.
Numerous playgrounds and play facilities
for children, a « nine hole golf course »
with a practice for golf amateurs, as well
as a 100 pitch camp site (***tourism).
The « Pont de Strasbourg », more commonly known as the «Pont Miredames»,
is were the boat’s names comes from.
The bridge was inaugurated in1892.
The origin of the name could come
from the nearby Sister Clarisse’s convent,
also known as the « minor ladies ».
The river runs along the « Maisons sur
l’Agout», former workshops of leather
craftsmen : chamois leather makers, tanners, parchment makers, curriers, etc...
The workshops, called « caussinos », a
term, which comes from the lime, used
with the tannin to treat pure leathers,
opened on to the water level.
The ground and first floor, often embellished with a balcony, were used as an
abode for the master craftsmen.
Drying rooms were installed on the
second floor ; the rooms were equipped with tiny openings to protect the
leathers from the light. Above the dryers
was the «solelier», wich to the contrary,
was wide open so that both air and light
could get in.
The present bridge dates from 1849 ;
however, the old bridge has been attested
since the13th Century. It had a central
tower, where subjected to a cruel and
humiliating chatisement, wich consisted of
being plunged into the river three times.
« L’Archéopole » (Center of research
and archaeological research of the
Castres regions - CERAC) : discover the
local archeaology. The miniature train
newtwork (Saturday afternoons).
From 1978, the houses were restored to
their original condition : both the colors
an the materials.
« L’Archipel » : swimming pool, aqua
games ( swimming pool-ice rink), accessible by the bridge, wich spans the river,
fishing, horse-riding, tennins, paddle
boats, 9 hole golf ciourse...
Se ilumina al caer la noche.
El Puente Nuevo fue una simple pasarela de
madera hasta 1368, cuando se construyó
con piedras. A pesar de su nombre, es el
puente más antiguo de Castres.
Esperamos que
conserven un bonito
recuerdo de su paseo
a bordo del barco
“Le Miredames”.
de
AYUNTAMIENTO DE CASTRES
TURISMO Y EVENTOS – BARCO DE PASEO
BP 10406 – 81108 CASTRES CEDEX (FRANCIA)
TEL.: +33 (0)5 63 62 41 76 FAX: +33 (0)5 63 62 42 12
CORREO ELECTRÓNICO: [email protected]
WEB: www.ville-castres.fr
En servicio de mayo a octubre.
C onception : V ille
En las casas de la margen izquierda
del Agout vivían los tintoreros. Todavía
conservan bien sus sótanos abovedados
que dan al río, permitiendo el acceso
para lavar las telas.
El puente que se percibe río abajo es
el Puente de Metz, también conocido
como Puente Oblicuo (“Pont Biais”)
debido al ángulo que forma con el eje
del río.
C astres - I mpression : C ouleurs d ’A utan -
février
Entre el Puente Nuevo y
la calzada
Después de las guerras de religión,
Richelieu hizo destruir las murallas. Con
las piedras que se recuperaron tras su
demolición se construyó la catedral
dedicada a San Benito, los palacetes y
el nuevo obispado en el que el paisajista Le Nôtre diseñaría más tarde unos
preciosos jardines clasificados como
monumento histórico. En la actualidad
el edificio alberga el Ayuntamiento y
el museo Goya, donde se exhibe una
importantísima colección de arte hispánico, que abarca desde la Edad Media
hasta nuestros días.
2016
El Puente Nuevo
En el siglo XVI, época en la que la ciudad
se encontraba fortificada, una cadena
tensada a la altura de la calzada se
extendía a lo largo del río, entre los 2
molinos, prohibiendo las incursiones.