Montauban Cathedral ( French: ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Montauban'') is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral and a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

located in the town of

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

. It is the seat of the Bishopric of Montauban, created in 1317, abolished by the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...

and transferred to the Archdiocese of Toulouse, and restored in 1822. The cathedral of Montauban was

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

from the start of the Wars of Religion until Catholicism returned to Montauban in 1629. The construction of a new church, the present building, was agreed after the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

in 1685. The cornerstone of the new cathedral was laid in 1692, and the church was consecrated in 1739. Initially, the architect

François d'Orbay François d'Orbay (; 1634–1697) was a French draughtsman and architect who worked closely with Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart. Early training and career D'Orbay was born in Paris and likely received his early training as an archite ...

supervised the works. When he died in 1697, he was succeeded by

Jules Hardouin-Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Gra ...

and

Robert de Cotte Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...

. The towers frame the west façade, a pure product that applies all the conventions of classical art, i.e. an Ionic facade with a peristyle mounted by statues of the

Four Evangelists In Christian tradition, the Four Evangelists are Matthew the Apostle, Matthew, Mark the Evangelist, Mark, Luke the Evangelist, Luke, and John the Evangelist, John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four canonical Gospel accounts ...

which replaced the original statues. The interior is decorated with

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

metope A metope (; ) is a rectangular architectural element of the Doric order, filling the space between triglyphs in a frieze , a decorative band above an architrave. In earlier wooden buildings the spaces between triglyphs were first open, and ...

s and

triglyph Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are ...

s, and the cathedral's strict and elegant vertical lines make it a typical example of

classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

. A famous painting by

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

, "''

The Vow of Louis XIII ''The Vow of Louis XIII'' is an 1824 oil painting on canvas by the French Neoclassical artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, now in Montauban Cathedral. The painting depicts a vow to the Virgin Mary by Louis XIII of France. It was commissioned ...

''", hangs in the north arm of the transept. Montauban - Cathédrale intérieur.jpg, Interior view of Montauban Cathedral. Montauban - Cathédrale orgue.jpg, Organ Pupilt of Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Montauban PM82000331.jpg, Pulpit File:Le Voeu de Louis XIII.jpg, ''The Vow of Louis XIII'' by Ingres

External links

Location

Picture of organ in Cathedral
Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Churches in Tarn-et-Garonne {{France-RC-cathedral-stub