Entrevaux Cathedral () 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 ...

church and former

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in Glandèves, France. It was the seat of the

bishops of Glandèves A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, who moved their principal residence to

Entrevaux Entrevaux (; ) is a Communes of France, commune (municipality), former episcopal seat (not bishopric in title; that remained the Diocese of Glandèves) and Latin Catholic titular see in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departments of France, departme ...

in the early 17th century. The edifice served as a cathedral from 1624 to 1790, known at the time from the name of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

as the

Glandèves Cathedral Glandèves Cathedral ( or ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède d'Entrevaux''), now the ''Chapelle de l'Hôpital'', is a Roman Catholic church located in the former town of Glandèves, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. It was abandoned in the Middle Ages f ...

. It is now a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Construction

The site of the ancient town of Glandèves, where the bishops' seat had been established since the end of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, was insecure, and the population moved in the 11th century to

, which was easier to defend.

and the bishop's establishment however remained on the old site until 1603. In 1604 the bishop Octave Isnard decided to build a new cathedral at Entrevaux. Construction work lasted from 1609 to 1630; decoration was completed in the 1650s, and the bell tower in the 1660s. It was probably consecrated in 1627. It was listed as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' on 27 June 1966.

Description

Because of the restricted site and the necessities of defending the town, the new cathedral was oriented to the north-east. It is 40 metres long, 10 metres wide and the height to the top of the vault is 14 metres. There is a single nave of three bays, with no side chapels. There are three windows in the south wall, while the north wall is blind. The cathedral was integrated into the town's fortifications in 1692, when the bell tower was crenellated for use as a defensive tower. The choir is richly decorated. The furnishings and works of art, including an "Assumption" of c. 1630 and a "Gift of the Rosary" of 1631 forming part of the altar, both by

François Mimault François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 16 ...

, and a portrait of the bishop Jean-Baptiste de Belloy, are mostly of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The organs are dated 1717 and were restored in 1864 and 1948. Their instrumental parts were made by Jean Eustache of Marseilles. They are listed.Arrêté du 27 juin 1977
notice de la Base Palissy
accessed 8 November 2008

Notes and references

Sources

* *

External links

Entrevaux Cathedral, showing the tower
{{Coord, 43.9503, N, 6.8110, E, source:wikidata, display=title Former cathedrals in France Churches in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence