Touren · Montpellier · Square
Place Jean Jaures
A buzzing cafe square at the heart of the medieval Ecusson, lined with terraces that fill every evening. Beneath the paving lie the ruins of the vanished church of Notre Dame des Tables, preserved in an underground crypt.
Über diesen Ort
Place Jean Jaures is one of the liveliest squares in the medieval core of Montpellier, the shield shaped old quarter known as the Ecusson. Today it is ringed with cafe terraces that spill across the paving, where locals linger over coffee by day and wine late into the warm evenings. Yet this cheerful spot sits atop a far older and more sacred story. For centuries it was the site of Notre Dame des Tables, the most important church in Montpellier, whose curious name, Our Lady of the Tables, came from the money changers and merchants who set up their tables of exchange around it. Montpellier was founded as a trading town in 985, and by the twelfth century the church had become a celebrated stop for pilgrims walking to Santiago de Compostela. Battered during the Wars of Religion, the church was finally demolished in 1794, during the French Revolution, and the square was laid out over its footprint. Its ancient foundations survive in a crypt below, now an underground museum of the city's history.
Wissenswertes
- 1794 year — The medieval church of Notre Dame des Tables was demolished during the Revolution
- 985 year — Montpellier was founded as a trading town, and this area grew into its medieval heart
- 12 century — By the 12th century the church was a celebrated stop for pilgrims heading to Compostela
📍 Place Jean Jaurès 6, 34062, Montpellier