St. Nazaire Cathedral

The present building, which people sometimes call “the chateau”, when they see it from the canal bridge, dates from the 13th and 15th centuries. The previous Romanesque-style cathedral, designed and built by Maître Gervais in 1130, “exploded like a grenade” during the fire on 22 July 1209, when Béziers was sacked during the Crusades.

The original church is referred to in documents dating from the 8th century. The Gothic-style Saint-Nazaire Cathedral is typical of what is known as “Mediterranean Gothic”. It is flanked by a cloister, the buildings of the former bishop’s palace (today the Courthouse) and the attractive, wooded and ornamental French-style Episcopal gardens.