Cathedrals in France
Rodez Cathedral
Rodez Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rodez) is a national monument and is the seat of the Bishopric of Rodez. The closed west front once formed part of the city wall of Rodez.  Rodez was Christianized in the 4th-5th century AD, and the first mention of a cathedral dates from around 516. This structure was rebuilt c. 1000; almost nothing remains of it after the decision to rebuild it from scratch in 1276. The wo ...
Founded: 1276 |
Location:
Rodez, France
Mirepoix Cathedral
Mirepoix Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Maurice de Mirepoix) foundation stone was laid by Jean de Lévis on the 6th May 1298. Construction continued, with interruptions, over the next six centuries. The cathedral was restored in 1858 and 1859. The cathedral has the second widest Gothic arch in Europe (after Girona in Catalonia, Spain). Inside the cathedral vandalism and demolitions has destroyed many treasures ...
Founded: 1298 |
Location:
Mirepoix, France
Béziers Cathedral
St.Nazaire cathedral is te main sight in Béziers. This grandiose Romanesque cathedral dates from the 13th century. It was erected on the site of an earlier building which was destroyed during the Massacre at Béziers in the Albigensian Crusade. It occupies one of the best sites in town: from the concourse in front of the cathedral there are beautiful views out over the surrounding vineyards and towards the fo ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Béziers, France
Perpignan Cathedral
Perpignan Cathedral construction was begun in 1324 by King Sancho of Majorca, and later finished in the 15th century. It replaced the Cathedral of Elna, and therefore the church was at first the seat of the Bishop of Elne, and then, from 1602, of the Bishop of Perpignan. The cathedral was built in the Catalan Gothic style, because of its association with the Kingdom of Majorca. It has a wide nave (80 meters long, 18 m wi ...
Founded: 1324 |
Location:
Perpignan, France
Grasse Cathedral
The medieval church of Notre-Dame du Puy in Grasse was raised to cathedral status in 1244, when the bishop transferred from Antibes to Grasse. Its Provençal Romanesque style has been well preserved throughout the centuries. In the 17th century, an exterior staircase was built, while a chapel dedicated to the Saint Sacrament was added in 1740, in a beautiful Baroque style. The cathedral’s strict, basic style, structur ...
Founded: 1244 |
Location:
Grasse, France
Saint-Omer Cathedral
Saint-Omer Cathedral is a Roman Catholic former cathedral, a minor basilica. It was formerly the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Omer, but the see was not restored after the French Revolution, being instead absorbed into the Diocese of Arras under the Concordat of 1801. The church is still commonly referred to as the 'cathedral' however. The cathedral is an excellent example of the flamboyant style of gothic architecture of ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Saint-Omer, France
Versailles Cathedral
Versailles Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and national monument of France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Versailles, created as a constitutional bishopric in 1790 and confirmed by the Concordat of 1801. The cathedral was built as the parish church of Saint Louis before becoming the cathedral of the new diocese. The building is of the mid-18th century: the first stone was laid, by Louis XV in 1743 and the churc ...
Founded: 1743-1754 |
Location:
Versailles, France
Fréjus Cathedral
Fréjus cathedral, dedicated to Saint Leontius of Fréjus, has been the seat of the Bishop of Fréjus since the 5th century. It is located close to what appears to have been the Roman forum of Fréjus. Elements of Roman buildings, such as columns and walls, were incorporated into its structure. Beginning in late Roman times, the town suffered a series of invasions and was pillaged by Goths, Burgundians, Franks, ...
Founded: 5th century AD |
Location:
Fréjus, France
Auch Cathedral
Auch Cathedral of Sainte-Marie (1489–1662) is one of the finest Gothic buildings of southern France. Its chief features are 113 Renaissance choir stalls of carved oak and Renaissance stained-glass windows by Arnaud de Moles. The cathedral’s classical facade dates from the 16th and 17th centuries, and its great organ (17th century) is one of the finest in the world for playing Baroque music. The 18th-century archbish ...
Founded: 1489-1662 |
Location:
Auch, France
Coutances Cathedral
Coutances Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances) is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral constructed from 1210 to 1274. It incorporated the remains of an earlier Norman cathedral. Standing 80 metres tall, it dominates the town and can be seen from as far away as the island of Jersey. It is a classic example of the Gothic style of Normandy in its use of long, straight, vertical lines. The construction of the first c ...
Founded: 1210-1274 |
Location:
Coutances, France
Noyon Cathedral
Noyon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Noyon) is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral. It was formerly the seat of the Bishopric of Noyon, abolished by the Concordat of 1801 and merged into the Diocese of Beauvais. The cathedral was constructed on the site of a church burned down in 1131 and is a fine example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture. In plan it is a Latin cross, with a total ...
Founded: 1131-1185 |
Location:
Noyon, France
Soissons Cathedral
The construction of the Gothic Soissons Cathedral south transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the choir in 1182. The choir with its original three-storey elevation and extremely tall clerestory was completed in 1211. This was earlier than Chartres, on which the design was supposed to have been based. Work then continued into the nave until the late 13th century. The single western tower dates from the ...
Founded: 1177 |
Location:
Soissons, France
Dax Cathedral
Dax Cathedral has been the the bishop"s seat officially since 1833 when it was transferred from Aire Cathedral. In the late 13th century, when the town of Dax was at the height of its prosperity, the bishops had a number of ecclesiastical buildings constructed, among which was a new cathedral on the site of an ancient Romanesque sanctuary which had become too cramped. This Gothic structure collapsed in 1646; all that ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Dax, France
Blois Cathedral
Blois Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Blois) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France, in Blois. It is the seat of the Bishopric of Blois, established in 1697. This was previously the collegiate church of Saint-Solenne, the original building of which dated from the 12th century. Apart from some traces in the crypt nothing survives of this. The façade and the bell tower were built in 1544. T ...
Founded: 1697 |
Location:
Blois, France
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral was originally built in the 12th century in Romanesque style. Over the northern and southern walls there are still Romanesque arches, the floor is made of marble and includes some tombs and sepulchurs. The cloister is also clearly Romanesque and offers an impressive view over the entire valley. The Gothic part is built in the Meridional Gothic style. There is a single nave that is ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, France
Toul Cathedral
Toul Cathedral is a classic example of late Gothic architecture in the Flamboyant style. The cathedral has one of the biggest cloisters in France. The towers of the facade measuring 65 meters high, the nave, 100 m long and a vault height of 30 meters and a transept 56 meters wide. Despite construction over more than three centuries, the building"s facade has a homogeneity of style. The 13th century saw the con ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Toul, France
Nancy Cathedral
Nancy Cathedral was built at the beginning of the 18th century by architects Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Germain Boffrand. Several paintings by local artists from the 17th and 18th century are exhibited. The great organ of the cathedral of Nancy has been built from 1756 by Nicolas Dupont. One century later (1861), Aristide Cavaillé-Coll signed here its biggest work in France outside of Paris.
Founded: 1703 |
Location:
Nancy, France
Castres Cathedral
Castres Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Benoît de Castres), now the Roman Catholic church of Saint Benoît, was formerly the seat of the bishop of Castres, but the diocese was not restored after the French Revolution and was added by the Concordat of 1801 to the Archdiocese of Albi. The first cathedral was built in the 14th century after the creation of the diocese of Castres in 1317, along with a number of other di ...
Founded: 1624 |
Location:
Castres, France
Uzès Cathedral
Uzès Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic cathedral, now a parish church, dedicated to Saint Theodoritus. It was formerly the seat of the Bishops of Uzès, until the diocese was abolished under the Concordat of 1801 and its territory passed to the Diocese of Avignon. In 1877 the territory of the former diocese of Uzès was removed from that of Avignon and added to the Diocese of Nîmes, now the Diocese of Nîmes, Uzès a ...
Founded: 1642-1663 |
Location:
Uzès, France
Vienne Cathedral
Vienne Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Maurice, was the epicopal see of the primate of the ancient Septem Provinciae and of the Archdiocese of Vienne until its abolition confirmed by the Concordat of 1801. It today serves as co-cathedral of the Diocese of Grenoble-Vienne. The present-day building was erected from 1130 onwards. Mentioned as the burial place of the Burgundian king Boso of Provence in 887, no t ...
Founded: 1130 |
Location:
Vienne, France