Paris1972-Versailles2003

Many have heard of Castres in my beloved Tarn dept 81 in the region of Occitanie of my belle France. The thing most people come here is for the Goya museum (see post). However, Castres is a lot more as far as architecture and history. I like to tell you a bit on the Saint Benoit (Saint Benedict) Cathedral of Castres. Hope you enjoy it as I

The Saint-Benoît Cathedral is located right by the museum and City/town hall on your way to City center, It is the largest church in the city of Castres. First known as Bellecelle Abbey, a Benedictine abbey founded in 812,it was raised to the rank of cathedral in 1317 before taking the title of parish church in 1801, the diocese of Castres, deleted at the time of the French revolution, not being restored by the Concordat. Even thus today is still refer to as the cathedral, It is located at 2 Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, The Protestant troops of the Duke of Rohan then ransacked what had been rebuilt. the bishop and the chapter can return to Castres. They regained possession of the cathedral at Easter 1630, but for lack of financial means little work was undertaken on the building. It took several years and lots of patience to rebuilt it bit by bit, During the French revolution, the cathedral was abandoned between 1792 and 1801. It now serves as a warehouse for fodder and equipment for the army of the eastern Pyrenees. In the concordat of 1801, the bishopric was abolished on November 29, 1801 and its territory was again attached to that of the archbishopric of Albi . The old cathedral, now a simple parish church,

The St Benoit Cathedral  built from the 11C, the abbey retains only its bell tower from this period. The cloister extended to the south of this abbey. It is on the ruins of these buildings that the episcopal palace was erected a few centuries later. The chapter house opened onto the river, while the refectory ran parallel to the nave of the abbey. A vegetable garden extended to the south, on the site of the current garden of the bishopric It forms a remarkable ensemble. The nave, paved with red sandstone, impresses with its vast volume.

The Saint Benoit Cathedral has a narrow nave of four bays bordered by six chapels and two vestibules, as well as a choir decorated with gilded wooden trophies and framed by four 17C marble statues, originating from the Charterhouse of Saïx, The bell tower is still separated from the body of the church today, and was attached to the episcopal palace of Castres during its construction. Vestige of the Romanesque style, this bell tower dominates this astonishing architecture which has been largely modified over the centuries. Its general style is that of a tower-keep from the 11C or 12C. It is a square tower, originally also serving as a door to the church, it has a tympanum portal with a semicircular arch and four biblical characters carved on the archivolt. It was greatly altered in the 17C. The organ ,a splendid instrument, the only symphonic instrument in town, which needed to be repaired, dusted off and retuned. Around the Choir, you have four statues in marbre which are blessed Guillaume de Fenoglio , lay brother of the Carthusians, Saint John the Baptist with the Lamb, Saint Hugh, Carthusian who became Bishop of Lincoln in England, and Saint Bruno, founder of the Carthusian order. This St Benoit Cathedral received its ornamentation at the beginning of the 19C in particular from elements saved during the destruction of the charterhouse of Beauvoir. Let us cite in particular 9 paintings on the theme of the Eucharist, the splendid altarpiece of the Master marble altar in the shape of a tomb, as well as the large statues on the wall framing the choir The tribune of the Puget organ was built in the late 1860s finally, the small needle painting.

The diocese of Albi on St Benoit Cathedral: https://albi.catholique.fr/eglises-du-tarn/castres-cathedrale-saint-benoit/

The Castres-Mazamet tourist office on Castres: https://www.tourisme-castresmazamet.com/fr/decouvrir/nos-villes-et-villages/castres/

There you go folks, lovely to stop by easy walking as we parked our car at the République underground next to the theater/museum. Hope you enjoy the post ; always something architecturally and historically magical in nice Castres, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Saint Benoit Cathedral of Castres as I.

And remember happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!