- Agde Cathedral
Agde Cathedral ("Cathédrale Saint-Étienne d'Agde"), a
Roman Catholic cathedral located inAgde in theHérault "département" of southernFrance , was constructed in the12th century on the foundations of a 5th century Roman church, formerly a temple ofDiana .It was formerly the seat of the
Bishop of Agde . The see was not restored after theFrench Revolution and by theConcordat of 1801 its parishes were added to theDiocese of Montpellier .The cathedral is remarkable for its use of black
basalt from the nearby volcanicMont St. Loup quarries.The building is extremely strong and was able to serve as a fortress as much as a church: the walls are between 2 and 3 metres thick, and the square tower, 35 metres high, could also function as a keep.
In the severe interior the 17th century high altar of polychromatic marble stands out all the more, as do the organs in
Baroque style.ee also
ources
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* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/inventai/itiinv/cathedrale/docimage/agde/cat_agde.html Ministère de la culture: archive photographs]
* [http://www.ville-agde.fr/ Agde municipality]
* [http://www.agde-herault.com/ Agde Tourist Office]
* [http://www.orgues-agde.com/ Amis des Orgues d'Agde]
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