It is the only medieval church in the “Ecusson” of Montpellier to have survived the wars of religion.
LOCATED IN THE “ECUSSON,” THE HEART OF THE HISTORIC CENTER OF MONTPELLIER, THE CATHEDRAL ST. PIERRE IS MONTPELLIER’S MOST IMPORTANT GOTHIC MONUMENT AND THE LARGEST CHURCH IN THE EAST PART OF OCCITANIE. IT IS CLASSIFIED AS A HISTORICAL MONUMENT.
ST. PIERRE CATHEDRAL WAS ORIGINALLY THE CHAPEL OF THE MONASTERY-COLLEGE SAINT-BENOÎT SAINT-GERMAIN, FOUNDED IN 1364 AND CONSECRATED IN 1367 BY POPE URBAN V.
In the 16th century, Montpellier became a mighty and dynamic city. It attracted spiritual power, and the episcopal headquarters was transferred from Maguelone to Montpellier in 1536. The bishops settled their residence there, and the abbey church was at that time erected into a cathedral.
The four towers that rise from the nave’s corners and numerous defense systems (parapet walk and machicolation) make this building a real fortress.
Inside, a significant work by Sébastien Bourdon takes you into the artistic life of Montpellier in the 17th century.
The Cathedral is practically adjacent to the Medicine School, the oldest medical school still active in the western world: in fact, the school was settled in 1795 in the old Saint-Benoît monastery, in which Cathedral was the old chapel. The school’s central courtyard corresponds to the old cloister logically attached to the church. This is how the Saint-Pierre Cathedral is found with its façade on the rue de l’école de Médecine.
Name: Montpellier | St Pierre Cathedral
Author: v. SEGAT/ar
