Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption - Lescar (64) - FRANCE

Entry Description

The cathedral of the kings of Navarre:
A masterpiece of Romanesque art in Bearn, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption was built between the end of the 11th century and the first half of the 12th century. Consecrated in 1145, the building presents typically Romanesque architectural arrangements. These are illustrated by harmonious proportions, a wide nave with a barrel vault, side aisles with transverse barrel vaults, large cruciform pillars with engaged columns, a choir with a monumental apse and two apsidioles with barrel vaults, and narrow windows that are now blocked. The numerous capitals and sculpted modillions bear witness to the influence of Romanesque sculpture along the Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela and particularly to the influence of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. The windows with flamboyant gothic filling were installed in the 16th century.

Bishopric and seat of a community of Augustinian canons, the cathedral received between the 15th and 16th centuries, the burials of the last sovereigns of Navarre.

From 1563 onwards, the cathedral was dedicated to the Protestant cult, by decision of Queen Jeanne d'Albret. It then underwent the hazards associated with the wars of religion. In 1610, it was returned to Catholic worship. The transept crossing collapsed and was rebuilt. The creation of the choir stalls, the paintings of the choir and the altarpieces in gilded wood are the symbols of this return to Catholicism.

The organ was installed in the 18th century, the instrumental part was redone in the 19th century by Georges Wenner. During the Revolution, the bishopric was abolished and the cathedral became a parish church.
It was classified as a historical monument in 1840.