Montauban Cathedral

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Montauban is a national monument of France located in the town of Montauban.

The cathedral was protestant from the start of the Wars of Religion until Catholicism returned to Montauban in 1629, the construction of a new church was agreed after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The cornerstone of the new cathedral was laid in 1692, and the church was consecrated in 1739. Initially, the architect François d'Orbay, supervised the works. When he died in 1697, he was succeeded by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Robert de Cotte.

The towers frame the west facade, a pure product that applies all the conventions of classical art, i.e. an Ionic facade with a peristyle mounted by statues of the four Evangelists which replaced the original statues. The interior is decorated with pilasters, metopes and triglyphs, and the cathedral's strict, elegant vertical lines make it a masterpiece of classical architecture. A famous painting by Ingres, The Vow of Louis XIII, hangs in the north arm of the transept.

External links

• Location
• Picture of organ in Cathedral