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CathedralPyrénées-Atlantiques
Cathédrale Sainte-Marie d'Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Dimensions
carved portal set beneath a fortified bell tower porch
Period
Construction begun around 1102 at the instigation of Gaston IV the Crusader, Viscount of Béarn; nave rebuilt in the 13th century after a fire, choir in the 14th
What stands there
tympanum of the Romanesque portal depicting a rare Descent from the Cross
The last great French stage on the Via Tolosana before the crossing of the Pyrenees at the Somport pass, the cathedral was founded around 1102 by Gaston IV, Viscount of Béarn, known as "the Crusader". Its Romanesque portal, sheltered beneath a defensive-looking bell tower porch, has a tympanum carved with a Descent from the Cross, a rare subject in French Romanesque iconography, surrounded by figures sometimes interpreted as chained captives evoking the viscount's Iberian campaigns.
Getting there : Free admission
Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.
Ambient sound
Nearby
- Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de SarranceMonastery / hospice · Sarrance · 17 km
- NavarrenxBastide (planned town) · Navarrenx · 19 km
- Chapelle de la Madeleine de TardetsChapel · Tardets-Sorholus · 19 km
- Chapelle Notre-Dame de PiétatChapel · Pardies · 19 km
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de LescarCathedral · Lescar · 22 km
- La Madeleine du Pont-LongChapel · Pau · 27 km
This place in the great stories
- The Ways of St James: from the tomb in Galicia to the four routes of FranceTomb recognised c. 820-830; first known pilgrim (Godescalc of Le Puy) in 950-951; Book of…