Narbonne, capital of Gallia Narbonensis, then residence of the Visigoth kings and archiepiscopal city, now has more than 52,625 citizens.
A port for the whole of Celtic Gaul in ancient times and a meeting place for civilizations for over 2,000 years, Narbonne is a child of the Mediterranean thanks to its privileged location.
Centered on the Lower Aude Plain, it stretches from east to west, from the Mediterranean Sea to the foothills of the Corbières Maritimes, encompassing the limestone massif of La Clape, and from north to south, from the current course of the Aude River to the outskirts of the island of Sainte-Lucie, incorporating a good half of the Bages-Sigean ponds.
The Horreum, Charles Trénet...
Narbonne is the birthplace of Charles Trenet.
His birthplace is located near the train station.
It is exactly as “the singing madman” wanted it to be.
More than a museum, it is a living place, and every year the greatest artists come to pay tribute to the man who revolutionized French song in the 1950s.
But the most surprising and original place in Narbonne is undoubtedly the Horreum.
Converted into a museum in 1975, these are the only Gallo-Roman underground warehouses that have been preserved in their entirety.
Long used to store oil, wine, grain, and weapons, it was still a wine cellar in 1975.
In the heart of the modern city, the Horreum consists of underground galleries built in the 1st century BC and located 5 meters below the modern ground level. They were probably the foundations of a building, most likely a market, whose secrets have not yet been fully uncovered (horreum means “warehouse” in Latin).
Built above ground, it was located south of the forum and on the edge of the cardo (north-south axis) of the Roman city of Narbo Martius. The Horreum galleries have survived the centuries thanks to various alterations and their partial reuse as private cellars. Officially reported in 1838, the galleries were classified as Historic Monuments in 1961, then renovated and opened to the public in 1976. Along with the archaeological remains of the Clos de la Lombarde, the Horreum is one of the only Roman monuments visible and open to visitors in the center of Narbonne.
It belongs to the Narbo Via Public Cultural Cooperation Establishment (EPCC), along with the Narbo Via and Amphoralis museums, thus restoring the prestigious Roman past.
Horreum
7 rue Rouget de l’Isle
11100 Narbonne
Tel.: +33 (0)4 68 32 45 30
https://narbovia.fr/accueil/visiter/visiter-horreum/
