SAINT MARY'S CATHEDRAL
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St. Mary's Cathedral, with its mighty bell tower and dungeon, offers a tour, including an audio-guide on its history
It is the cathedral that you see at first sight, the proud silhouette of which stands on its rock... It is she who inspired the nickname of "Mont-Saint-Michel of the Pyrenees": the Sainte-Marie cathedral invites you to go back in time. Initially a Romanesque cathedral, dating from the episcopate of Bertrand de L'Isle (1083-1123), it was characterized by the importance of the Roman fillings as well as by its plan: a large vessel of thirty-five meters long and fifteen meters wide.
From the 12th century onwards, the Romanesque cathedral was redeveloped. A powerful bell tower was added to it, as well as a cloister of which only the west gallery remains today. Then in the 13th century, a Gothic cloister was built. The present form of the cathedral, with its heightened nave and radiating chapels, dates from this period. The stalls built between 1525 and 1535 to isolate the canons from the flow of pilgrims are absolutely remarkable. The choir oscillates between Renaissance humanism and the classical spirit.
The rood screen was designed as a triumphal arch. On the right is the tree of Jesse, a real lace sculpture tracing the genealogy of Christ. Unesco has registered all the churches on the site of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges - Valcabrère as World Heritage Sites, as part of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
The price of your visit includes the loan of an audio-guide, which will allow you to know the history of this building and not to miss any detail.
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L’entrée de la cathédrale est gratuite, mais pour 5 € vous pouvez visiter en plus le trésor, le chœur des chanoines avec le trône épiscopal, les stalles richement sculptées et ornées, le mausolée de St Bertrand et à l’extérieur, le jardin et le cloître.
En été jusqu’à fin octobre l’entrée de la cathédrale vous permet de visiter également la basilique St just tout à côté au pied de St Bertrand, à Valcabrère.