Notre-Dame-la-Grande

Consecrated in 1086 by Pope Urban II, this Romanesque church has a large carved facade added in the twelfth century. The front screen is much higher than the church itself. The patterns shown are typical of Romanesque art: we see the foliage, fun characters and animals from the medieval bestiary on the capitals. A frieze above the entrance gate shows the biblical episodes. Various historical events have damaged the facade of Notre-Dame-la-Grande. In 1562, The Huguenots broke the figures considered as being heretic. And during the seventeenth century, the stones were attacked by the salt, when salt merchants sold their provisions on the church square. From 1992 to 1995, the façade was restored and traces of colour were found on the sculptures. The interior of Notre-Dame-la-Grande is also well preserved. The wall paintings of the Romanesque period in the crypt and the choir remain. There is also a very nice burial polychrome stone in one of the chapels of the church.