The Basilica of St. Nazaire and St. Celsus of Carcassonne was built between the twelfth and fourteenth century and is located south of the fortified town surrounded by ramparts.
Having then rank cathedral, built of sandstone in terms of its exterior siding, it replaced a Carolingian Cathedral of which is left no trace.
A first building campaign allows for the apse and the choir, while the original nave was completed later.
Having suffered the siege of the city in 1209, the Romanesque cathedral was rebuilt in 1267 but when the bishop asks the king for permission to enlarge the choir and transept. This is granted and realized but this time in a Gothic style as is the new fashion in the region. The transept and choir are proving is very slender, with a decoration of sculptures and a set of stained glass windows are among the most beautiful in the south of France.
During the Revolution, the chapter is deleted and in 1801, the church was stripped of his rank of cathedral in favor of the St. Michael's Church, located in the lower city, outside the city. In 1898, however, Pope Leo XIII granted it the title of Basilica.
Always at the time of the Revolution, the buildings devolved to the canons (chapter house, dormitory, dining hall) were demolished in 1792 and the cloister later replaced by an open-air theater.
In the nineteenth century, a restoration campaign was initiated by the famous Viollet-le-Duc who wishes to restore its luster to this church considered the jewel of the city. His works transform the outside of the building but the harmony of the interior is preserved, the Gothic and Romanesque styles superimposed at the windows and decorations (sculptures). Only the Romanesque portal was redesigned.
Listed in 1840, the church is finally notable for its stained glass windows of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries restored in the nineteenth by the Parisian master Alfred Gerente. These different windows evoke particular childhood and the Passion of Christ and the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Open every day. Guided tours possible. Information +33 4 68 25 27 65.
