Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers de Sisteron

Sisteron

For a long time Sisteron had a rival within its own diocese. Around 1060 Bishop Gérard Chevrier, elected by a council and consecrated in Rome by Pope Nicholas II, found the town closed to him by its inhabitants on his return and settled in Forcalquier; there remained from this a peculiarity, a diocese unique in France with two cathedrals, each with its chapter, and two chapters that voted together to elect the bishop, not without quarrels. Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers nevertheless remained the seat of the bishops of Sisteron until the Concordat of 1801. Its name has nothing to do with an orchard: it comes from a corruption of the Latin pomerium, which designated the space between the houses and the ramparts where it was built. Work is said to have begun, according to the historian Jacques Thirion, on the initiative of Bishop Pierre de Sabran (1145–1171), and to have continued in the early 13th century with Lombard teams called in by Bishop Henri de Suse; other researchers place the start of building work nearer the end of the 12th century. It can be read in the stone: a Provençal Romanesque subject to Lombard influences, in the portal as in the chevet, in one of the largest religious buildings in Provence. The five-bay nave opens onto the side aisles; an imposing tower belfry dominates the whole. Inside, Mgr Toussaint de Glandevès gave in 1644 a gilded wooden altarpiece made by Étienne Lalozière, with superimposed paintings attributed to Nicolas Mignard; walnut choir stalls of the same century and a Saint-Sébastien chapel complete the ensemble.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Notre-Dame-des-Pommiers de Sisteron ↗

Getting there : Place du Général-de-Gaulle, 04200 Sisteron. Free entry; according to the regional tourist board, open on Monday and Sunday from 3 pm to 6 pm from late August to late October 2026, times subject to change because of ceremonies (to be checked); guided tours offered by the tourist office.

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

Ambient sound