Béziers Cathedral

The Cathedral of Saint -Nazaire Beziers is in the western part of the medieval Béziers on a rock that dominates the plain of the Orb. Due to its exposed location, it is widely visible mainly from the south and this reason alone one of the landmarks of the city. It is registered in the list of Monuments historiques. The cathedral was the church of the Bishops of Béziers, until after the Concordat of 1801, the diocese of Béziers in 1802 merged with the diocese of Montpellier.

History

The Saints Nazario and Celsus consecrated cathedral stands on a site, even at the time of the Romans was at a temple of Augustus and his wife Livia was consecrated. In the 8th century a Christian building is mentioned later, here was a Romanesque church that was destroyed during the Albigensian Crusade in the massacre of Béziers on July 22, 1209 by a fire. The reconstruction began in the mid 13th century and closes due to the size of the building since then partly an old cemetery one.

The exterior of the church

West facade

North wall of the nave

West facade

The cathedral has the image of a fortress. It is dominated by a 48 meter high rectangular tower, which another turret mount ( 15th century ) and an iron Campanile with a bell from the 18th century. The tower is the second largest with four tons of weight bell of the Languedoc -Roussillon (the largest is that of the cathedral of Montpellier).

Numerous gargoyles ( Gargouilles ), some in poor condition, drain the roof of the Cathedral. Grid from the 14th century to protect the glass windows in the choir. The sacristy dating from 1443 is located next to the apse; the wrought-iron lattice derived from the construction of the church.

The west facade is flanked by two towers, another round crenellated watchtower will be transported back. The rose has a diameter of tens of meters. Among the portal is ( which today is no longer used ), between rosette and portal Machicolation. The sculptures of the facade are almost all destroyed, only two remain.

The entrance to the Cathedral ( 17th century ) is found on the north side of the transept, the wooden lintel schildet the martyrdom of saints of the Church.

The interior of the church

The Evangelists Luke and John

The Evangelists Matthew and Mark

Interior view of the west portal below the organ

The floor plan of the cathedral form a Greek cross. The measurements are:

• Length: 50 meters
• Height of the nave: 14 meters
• Length of the transept: 33 meters
• Height of the vault: 32 meters

Inside are remarkable:

• Romanesque columns and capitals as relics of the Romanesque cathedral. The majority of the columns is Gothic. The arches are from the 14th century.
• The railing of the upper tier in the ship near the choir imitate Gallo-Roman friezes after; they date from the 12th century
• In the choir windows are from the Gothic period. They were fashioned in the 18th century in the Baroque style and provided along the wall of the choir with a row of columns of veined red marble, framed statues of the four evangelists and the main altar in polychrome marble.
• Above the choir stalls are six large images; three of which are signed with " Thierry " and portray scenes from the life of Moses, the other three are works of the painter Raoux Montpellier, they depict scenes from the life of the Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena.
• The walls are partly covered with frescoes, which were repaired in 1917. These frescoes date from the 14th and 15th centuries during the Wars of Religion were heavily damaged and repainted later.
• The rose with a diameter of tens of meters.

• The organ on a stage at the west end of the nave, the buffet is a work of Guillaume Martois and dates from the 17th century. The instrument dates in part from the 17-18. Century ( Guillaume Poncher 1633, Jean de Joyeuse in 1678, Joseph Isnard, 1785), partly from the 19th century ( Theodor Puget 1868). In 1993 the organ was restored.

The Cloister

In the south, a cloister was added to the cathedral. The sculptures in the vaulted date from the 14th century. The cloister houses a collection of stone statues from different periods of history of the city of Béziers.

Below the cloister is the garden of the Bishop's Palace, the views of the Orb, the bridges ( including the Pont -Vieux from the 13th century), the Nine Locks, the oppidum d' Ensérune and the space dominated by the Pic du Canigou Pyrenees chain offers.