Inside the Tithe Barn

The Tithe Barn is one of the more significant structures here in the medieval town of Provins. However, this structure isn’t a massive structure like churches or castles. This was just a simple barn where merchants would come and sell their goods. The Tithe Barn allows visitors to see how the trade in Provins was conducted. It is interesting to see this done and the exhibits really give you and idea of how people lived back then. The barn was larger than it looked from the outside. The entire basement was open and this was where business was conducted. There weren’t a lot of windows here I guess fire was the order of the day.

The barn interiors has a look of a church. There were columns and naves which you usually see in churches. Apart from that the barn was rather bare. I don’t know if they had other stuff here but it is surprisingly spacious. It is possible that there are other places like this or people just trade on the streets themselves. There is an annual medieval festival in Provins but this is held outside the city walls. It probably gives you an idea of how trade was conducted back then. It seems the festival is held every June, so it would be nice if you timed your visit during these dates.