a town of France, capital of the department of Tarn-et-Garonne, is situated on an elevated plain on the right bank of the Tarn, which is here crossed by a brick bridge of seven arches, 342 miles S. by W. of Paris. It is small and irregular, and the houses ill built; but on the other side of the river stands a suburb called Ville Bourdon, which is regularly and well built. The town itself has three squares, one of which, called the Place Royale, is large and surrounded by handsome houses. There is a fine promenade called Les Terrasses, which commands an extensive view of the surrounding country as far as the Pyrenees and the sea. Montauban was formerly strongly fortified; but the only remains of its defences at present are its gates. The principal buildings are,—the cathedral, a cruciform building in the Italian style, with two turrets; the church of St James; the prefecture; the town-hall, a square building with four turrets; and the bishop's palace. Montauban has also a college and several other educational institutions. The manufactures are extensive, consisting of silk, woollen, and cotton stuffs, leather, starch, soap, earthenware, brandy, &c.; and some trade is carried on in these articles and the produce of the neighbourhood. Montauban has a court of first resort, a tribunal of commerce, a chamber of manufactures, a public library, and a society of agriculture, science, and literature. Five fairs are held here annually. Montauban was founded in 1144 by Count Alphonse of Toulouse. At the Reformation the people embraced the Protestant cause; and the town was inefficaciously besieged by the adverse party in 1580. Afterwards, in 1621, resisted for three months the assaults of Louis XIII., and did not yield till after the fall of Rochelle in 1629. The fortifications were soon after destroyed. The Ville Bourdon was founded by Protestants expelled from Montauban in 1562. Pop. (1851) 23,314.