Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral facts for kids

The Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral (in French, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges) is a very old church in a town called Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges in southwestern France. It used to be the main church for a large area, like a headquarters for the local church leaders.

Exploring the Cathedral's Styles

When you step inside this amazing cathedral, you'll notice it has three different building styles from different times:

• The oldest part is from the 1100s, called Romanesque.
• Then there's the Gothic part, built in the 1300s by a leader named Bertrand de Goth.
• Finally, you'll see parts from the 1500s, which is the Renaissance style, including a huge organ.

The entrance area, called the narthex, has two giant pillars. Each pillar is more than 11 meters (about 37 feet) around! Above the walls, you can see the rounded Romanesque arches. The floor is made of marble and has some old tombs. The cloister, which is an open courtyard, is also Romanesque and gives you a great view of the valley.

The Gothic Section

The Gothic part of the cathedral is built in a style common in southern France. It has one long main area, called a nave, which is 55 meters (about 180 feet) long, 16 meters (about 52 feet) wide, and 28 meters (about 92 feet) high. Above the pointed arches, you can see the special symbols, or coats of arms, of the bishops who helped build it. The stained glass windows are very detailed and beautiful.

The Choir Stalls

The wooden seats in the choir area, called stalls, were ordered by Jean de Mauléon. We don't know for sure who carved them, but many people think they were made by artists from the school of Nicolas Bachelier. These artists came from France, Spain, and Italy. Most of the carvings are made from oak and walnut wood. The choir area looks very different from the older Gothic and Romanesque parts of the church.

There are 67 stalls, and they show characters and scenes from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. You can see scenes like 'temptation' and 'envy'.

The Song of Roland and a Crocodile!

Inside the church, you can also see pictures that tell stories from the chanson de geste called Song of Roland. This is an old French poem about knights. You can clearly see the character Oliver in these pictures.

One very unusual thing inside the cathedral is a stuffed crocodile! This strange fact, along with descriptions of the cathedral's history, is mentioned in a ghost story called Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book by M. R. James.

This former cathedral is so important that it has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France, which are famous paths that pilgrims used to walk.

Images for kids

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  A plan of the cathedral

See also

In Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora (Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges) para niños