Tarn River: Source of Economy

Besides inspiring clever café names, the Tarn River has provided Ambialet with many other services throughout history.  In the Middle Ages, the area obtained much of its wealth through mining.  Lead, iron, copper, along with other precious metals, were mined in this region.  It was the Tarn River which facilitated the movement of goods and provided locals with accessibility to trade.  The powerful current of the Tarn was also harnessed as an energy source and used to drive mills.  Thus another key source of revenue for this area issued from goods made in the mills:  wheat, grain, textiles, oil, and lumber.  All of these were easily transported along the river and sold to other communities.

When looking at the geography of the Tarn, one must consider how it also helped to shape village life.  Ambialet was not always accessible by a bridge.  Because of this, the area shielded by the Tarn developed in relative isolation from much of the surrounding territory.  This isolation factor actually drew many people to Ambialet, at different times and for different reasons.  During Roman period, for example, Gauls sought refuge amongst the hills, in an attempt to flee Roman authority.  In the Early Middle Ages, hermits, seeking religious solitude, ventured into the same hills, building small stone huts in which to live ~ which still exist today!  These same stone huts would later provide shelter for many miners.  The rocky hills carved out by the Tarn River also provided defensive enclaves.  In the Middle Ages, small forts were built atop these hills.  Many became the dwelling places of the "Trencavel," the dominant family who ruled this area and many adjacent villages at that time.

Today, the Tarn River still plays an important role in the community. A hydroelectric plan was built in Ambialet in 1920, and it currently supplies electricity for the "Saut-du-Tarn." 

["Les Trencavel", "Les forts", "Les cases-encoches" and "La Central électrique" in Journée du Patrimoine 2010]