I volunteered for Patrimoine Weekend and was assigned to the Thermes on
Sunday. I stood at the entrance to the Thermes, and took postal codes of each person that toured, organized them
into groups, and answered questions as best I could. The other
volunteer led the groups through part of the Thermes, through the
underground tunnel, and into the Hotel des Doctrinaires. The tunnel is
not open to the public except on Patrimoine weekend, so people were
curious to go through it, as well as to see parts of the Hotel that are
only open to guests. I had fun!
As part of my assignment, I was given the history of both the Thermes and Hotel des Doctrinaires. "One of the reasons Lectoure was developed in the 1st century by the Gallo-Romans, was because of its strategic position at the crossroads of the main roads at the time, Agen to Saint-Bertrand de Comminges and Toulouse to Bordeaux, it's thermal baths, potters, and an important necropolis. Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela have been stopping at the thermes for more than 1000 years. Today, the thermes are installed in a former 18th century private mansion, the largest in Lectoure, built by Noble Guilhaume de Goulard, Mayor of Lectoure, Knight of Saint-Louis, and a cavalry captain. He was married to the daughter of the first President of France. The mansion, known as Hotel Goulard, became a temporary barracks in WWI, and then a biscuit factory. After WWII, part of it became a boarding school for girls, and a fire station.
The thermes source under Hotel Goulard was discovered in 1979, and was the subject of studies which confirmed in 1989 its qualities for the treatment of rheumatism. The Thermes opened in 2003, and has been linked since 2016 by a tunnel to the Hotel des Doctrinaires, located on the other side of rue Nationale."
Papa and I also visited Cathedral of Saint-Gervais and Saint-Protais. We go inside the cathedral several times a week, and always discover something we haven't seen before. "The cathedras was the seat of the ancient diocese of Lectoure, a bishopric mentioned since 506. The current cathedral succeeded several others. It is located on the highest part of the Lectourian plateau and was a place of worship before the arrival of the Romans (confirmed by numerous altars discovered during reconstruction of the choir). A council meeting in Toulouse in 1118, decided to build an abbey and a cathedral in Lectoure. Construction on various parts of the cathedral lasted from the 12th to the 18th century."
