Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Arnoux de Gap

Gap

Around 1064 or 1065, Pope Alexander II sent to Gap a monk of the Abbey of La Trinité in Vendôme, Arnoux, born into the nobility of the Vendômois and who had entered his service a few years earlier: he was to replace Bishop Ripert, accused of simony. Arnoux died in the 1070s — the sources hesitate between 1070, 1074, 1078 and 1079 — and the town made him its patron saint. Legend has embroidered his memory: a lord of the castle of Charance, named Leydet, is said to have cut off his right arm, then, for having insulted his remains, to have perished crushed by a beam of the cathedral; it is also told that when his body was translated into the cathedral, thirty years after his death, his arm was found still bleeding. According to the tradition reported by the tourist office, the first cathedral church stood as early as the 5th century on the ruins of a temple of Apollo. The medieval cathedral suffered in the Wars of Religion: on the night of 2 to 3 January 1577, Protestants of the town opened the gates to Lesdiguières' troops, who sacked Gap; bishop's palace, canons' houses and cathedral were damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the old church was falling into ruin when the bishop, Mgr Bernadou, decided to replace it. Building work began in 1866 or 1867, depending on the source, under the direction of the architect Charles Laisné, who drew inspiration from the neighbouring cathedral of Embrun and from Lombard art: white, grey and pink stones, drawn from forty-one quarries, give the building its polychromy, and the bell tower now rises above the entrance, whereas the old one stood beside the choir.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Arnoux de Gap ↗

Getting there : Place Saint-Arnoux, in the centre of Gap. Opening times and visiting conditions to be checked (none of the sources consulted gives them); the forecourt has recently been redesigned.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound