Thesaurus

Tours is the capital of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the Loire River. It is the chief tourist centre for the Loire Valley and its historic châteaus. Tours offers sharp contrasts in buildings and architectural styles. Located in Tours is the cathedral of Saint-Gatien which sums up four centuries of French religious architecture: the choir is of the 13th century; the nave marks a transition between Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance styles; the facade was built between 1426 to 1547. Tours was one of the pilgrimage sites on route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, home of the shrine dedicated to Saint James, the patron saint of Spain. The symbol of Saint James, the scalloped shell, became the primary symbol representing pilgrims. French pilgrimage routes to Compostela tend to follow old Roman roads, many of which continued to be utilized as primary roads of communication during the Middle Ages. Tours was a medieval center of learning and scene of the victory of Charles Martel over the Saracens in 732. Tours developed a prosperous silk industry in the 15th century. Its Musée des Beaux-Arts in the former 17th- to 18th-century archiepiscopal palace has an excellent collection of paintings. Tours entered the 1980s with strength due to its decentralization from the Paris region of machinery assembly, chemical products, and pharmaceutical industries. This was the birthplace of Balzac.