A small stronghold created in the 10th century on a rocky islet between the Dadou, the Verdaussou stream and the Jordan marsh, Graulhet owes its development to leather tanning activities and more particularly to tawing, which consists of preparing the skins before their future use.
Leather in Graulhet has a long history
If Graulhet is a land of rugby (the Sporting Club Graulhétois played among the elite from 1949 to 1995), it is a different ball than the oval ball that Graulhet has made its specialty over the ages.
From 13e century, Graulhet developed textile, felt and hat-making activities. The village has valuable natural assets for leatherwork: water, wood and livestock. It was in the 19the century that Graulhet will make tanning a world-renowned specialty, to the point of becoming the world capital of basane, a piece of leather specific to shoe lining.
Factories will flourish all along the Dadou, building a typical landscape made of bricks, workshops, mills and openwork dryers.
The start of the 20ᵉ century will see the great strike of 1909-1910, then two world wars and internationalized competition will gradually change the industrial landscape of the city.
Graulhet today: art and know-how
Proud of its past and its history, today it is a new economy, focused on innovation, the excellence of its craftsmen, luxury leather goods and specialized niches (such as motorcycle clothing) that carries the city and revives the leather industry, adapting it to new global challenges. There are even plans for a Graulhet PDO!
An artistic soul
Already in his time (17e century), the grandson of Louis d'Amboise d'Aubijoux, François-Jacques d'Amboise (1606-1656), to whom belonged the seigneury of Graulhet, was the friend and protector of Molière; his castle of Crins welcomed at the same time troubadours like Chapelle and Bachaumont.
Today, Graulhet still perpetuates this tradition, with the largest number of artist residencies in Midi-Pyrénées after Toulouse, including the Plasticiens Volants who occupy a former tannery.
Clearing the future
Perpetuating the past of an industrial history, the old tanneries are gradually being renovated to be transformed into a cultural center, such as the Marguerite Yourcenar library or the House of Leather Trades, but also in artist residencies or in housing. An interpretive trail has been set up along the Dadou, to feel and better understand this industrial past that stretches from workshops to factories all along the river.
Where to eat in Graulhet?
The tourist office in Graulhet
The Graulhet tourist information office will be your valuable resource for organizing your stay; to find a hotel, a bed and breakfast, an activity in the surrounding countryside, or simply organize a road trip in Occitan Tuscany!
Discover the history of the leather industry at the Maison des Métiers du cuir, thanks to exhibitions and guided tours through the town and its old tanneries.
Early June, Biocybele, the big organic fair, is taking over the city. The Summer Streets Festival is putting street arts in the spotlight in July.
Around Graulhet
