Toulouse and pastel (woad)

Toulouse had its golden century between 1463 and 1560. This period of the Renaissance brought the city great wealth and turned it into a real crossroads for the pastel trade.

The pastel plant had long been grown in the West. Its leaves were harvested, crushed and shaped to form shells, or “cocagnes”, from which the blue dye used to colour cloth was released.
The climate and soils of the Midi-Toulousain region were particularly suitable for growing it. A pastel triangle was created between Albi, Toulouse and Carcassonne and this was given the nickname “pays de cocagne” (land of plenty).

Growing demand for the blue dye and the success of pastel led a number of merchants to develop the activity. Merchants from Toulouse encouraged the transport of shells via pastel roads, set up trading posts all over the West and created a pastel market in Toulouse.
Toulouse thus became the centre of the pastel trade. This golden age of pastel lasted until the mid-16th Century, allowing the rich Toulouse merchants to build magnificent private mansions and embellish the city.



Pastel began to decline with the arrival of indigo in the West. It soon began to compete with pastel and led to its being abandoned.

We can now see the traces left by the pastel merchants. There are a number of private mansions that bear witness to this glorious era.

The pastel merchant mansions trail

Hôtel de Bernuy – rue Gambetta near the Place du Capitole
Tour Pierre de Serta - 2, 4 rue Saint-Rome
Hôtel d’Astorg – 16 rue des Changes
Hôtel d’Arnault de Brucelles – 19 rue des Changes
Hôtel Delfau – 20 rue de la Bourse, which now houses the « La Fleurée de Pastel »
Hôtel Hugues de Boysson – 11 rue Malcousinat
Hôtel d’Assézat – place d’Assézat near the rue de Metz
Hôtel du Vieux Raisin – 36 rue du Languedoc
Hotel Dahus / Tour des Tournoer - 9 rue Ozenne