Cahors Cathedral

Cahors Cathedral, officially the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors, stands in the town of Cahors, in France’s Occitanie region. This Roman Catholic church, a national monument, marks the shift from late Romanesque to Gothic architecture. Bishop Géraud de Cardaillac (also known as Gérard de Cardaillac) began its construction in the 11th century, replacing a 7th-century church built by St. Didier of Cahors. Pope Calixtus II consecrated it on September 10, 1119, and work finished around 1135. Located in the city center, the building looks like a fortress because the local bishops were also powerful feudal lords, serving as counts and barons of Cahors. The façade, renovated from 1316 to 1324 by Guillaume de Labroue—a cousin of Pope John XXII—reinforces this impression: it resembles a heavy castle wall, with a porch topped by a bell tower squeezed between two towers. The six windows, along with those on the porch sides, are narrow; only the grand portal with triple splays, a gallery of small arches above it, and the large rose window mark it as a church. On the north side, a secondary Romanesque façade is also fortified. The nave, well-lit, measures 44 by 20 meters. Two massive Byzantine-style domes, each 32 meters high, rest on pendentives and are supported by six huge pilasters. Unusually, there is no transept. One dome features 14th-century frescoes showing the stoning of St. Stephen and eight prophets riding animals, in the style of Greek or Hindu deities; other medieval paintings cover the walls. The apse, Gothic in style but built on a Romanesque base with columns and decorated capitals, holds three chapels with sculptures. This creates a pleasant contrast between the white apse and the colorful stained glass and choir paintings. Several tombs are here, including that of Alain de Solminihac, along with the relic of the Holy Cap, whose provenance is disputed and not part of widely accepted history. A door to the right of the choir leads to the Flamboyant Gothic cloister, built in 1504 by Bishop Anthony of Luzech, featuring scenes of everyday life and a Madonna. On the western side, the St. Gaubert Chapel has a vault decorated with Italian Renaissance paintings and walls with 15th-century frescoes of the Last Judgement; it now houses a museum of Religious Art.