ALBI, a city of south-west France, in the department of Tarn, 48m. N.E. of Toulouse, on a branch line of the Southern railway. Pop. 0931) 21,86o. It occupies a commanding position on the left bank of the Tarn, where its valley broadens as it emerges from the high Plateau Central towards the plain of Toulouse; a bridge crosses to La Madeleine (a suburb).
Albi (Albiga) was capital of the Gallo-Roman Albigenses, and later of the viscounty of Albigeois, a fief of the counts of Toulouse. From the 12th century onwards its bishops encroached on the authority of the viscounts and, after the Albigensian War, lost their estates, which passed ultimately to the Crown. By a con vention (1264), the chief temporal power was granted to the bishops. A nucleus of narrow, winding streets is surrounded by boulevards, beyond which lie modern quarters. The cathedral of Sainte Cecile, a fine Gothic fortress-church built in 1277-1512, is without transepts or aisles; the rood-screen and the choir enclosures (about soo) are masterpieces. The i4th-century archbishop's palace to the north-east is fortified.
The church of St. Salvi belongs to the i3th and i5th centuries. There are dye-works, cement-works, coal-mines, glass-works and important flour-mills. Hats, cloth fabrics, umbrellas, artificial silk and agricultural implements are also made. Trade is in wheat, wine, and prunes. Albi is the seat of an archbishop (1678), a prefect, and a court of assizes. It has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a board of trade arbitrators and a chamber of commerce.