Agen Cathedral

Agen, France

Agen Cathedral's (Cathédrale Saint-Caprais d'Agen) visible structure dates back to the 12th century. It was built as a collegiate church of canons dedicated to Saint Caprasius, on the foundations of a basilica sacked by the Normans in 853 but thereafter restored.

Sacked again in December 1561 during the Wars of Religion, by two years after the countrywide coup d'état that took place in 1789, the cathedral had come to store fodder before being reopened in 1796 and being elevated to the status of the city's cathedral in 1801. This new cathedral replaced the old cathedral in the town, which was destroyed during the French Revolution, thereby becoming the bishop's seat in the diocese.

The cathedral appears in one of the earliest color photographs ever taken by Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron in 1877.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Eric Jetner (15 months ago)
Such a gorgeous and quiet cathedral. Between Roman and Gothic get inside to enjoy the paintings on the walls.
Faye McKinney (2 years ago)
Beautiful Cathedral in beautiful condition. Set in a lovey square. The paintings inside are in exquisite condition. If religious there are a range of candles to purchase and light in memory of others.
Annunaki (2 years ago)
Exelent
Djamel Besseghir (3 years ago)
Top
Andrey Barbosa (4 years ago)
It is a beautiful cathedral and it is close to some stores like toystore, bookstore, restaurants and a children's playground, small but nice. The city is amazing, full of history and sites seeing. There are many churchs around to visit. Usually It is open, so you can go in to rest and pray. It is worthy going to.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.