The Town Of Tours

 by: Jakob Jelling

Tours is a French town located within the area of Loire Valley, surrounded by the Cher River and the Loire River, at about 65 miles from Orleans and 125 miles southwest from Paris. This town is the capital city of the French department Indre et Loire, and is particularly famous throughout the region by its great cuisine and excellent wine.

The town of Tours owes its name to a tribe which had been the main inhabitants of the area several decades BC. This tribe was called the Turons, lost their establishment in the area after the Romans époque, and this town went through several different situations and denominations, until it was finally recognized as tours.

During the III century, the town of Tours was known Caesar's Hill. Around this époque, this town became highly known throughout the region by being home of a recognized bishopric. From that moment, tours started becoming more popular and known around the rest of the region as well as started receiving more new inhabitants than it would before.

In the decade of 370, the town of Tours was named capital of Lyonaise. Lyonaise was an important province to which several other recognized cities were part of, such as for example, Maine, Anjou and Touraine. During this époque, the town of tours as well as the surrounding region was mainly known due to the Christian community established in it.

During the V century, Tours changed its former name to City of the Tourones. This was the last name known before the actual one, tours, since it actually was the denomination which gave birth to it. During that same century the town went through some dramatic moments, such as for example, being invaded by the Visigoths.

Nowadays, the town of Tours is not only very rich in history but also in architecture, ornaments, arts, and antique constructions. There are buildings dating from many of the different historic stages this town has gone through, and walking around it can be a great way to learn about the past and the architectural styles which would characterize each different ancient époque.