"A magnificent emblem of Béziers, visible from afar, as if perched atop the Roman and medieval ramparts of the ancient city. Indeed, on the "Béziers acropolis," the majestic and austere Cathedral of Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Celse watches over the city.

Anchored on a rocky promontory, overlooking the city, the Southern Gothic-style building stands on the remains of a Roman temple and a Romanesque church destroyed and burned during the Crusade against the Cathars in 1209 by the troops of the King and the Pope, commanded by Arnaud Amaury.

Today, the cathedral is dominated by a 48-meter-high square tower topped by a turret housing an iron campanile with a late 18th-century bell. The upper part, dating from the 15th century, is adorned with columns, each base of which represents a human face. The bell tower houses a 4-ton bell named after Mary, cast by François Granier, the second most important bell in the region after the bell of Montpellier Cathedral.
Numerous gargoyles, some requiring renovation, adorn the cathedral walls. Richly crafted 14th-century ironwork grilles protect the choir's stained-glass windows.

Impressive in its size, the building houses 14th-century frescoes, a splendid 17th-century organ case, and a large rose window with a diameter of ten meters.
Its magnificent grand organ is installed on a gallery at the end of the nave, whose organ case, in the Louis XIII style and the work of Guillaume Martois, dates from 1633. Its instrumental part also dates largely from the 17th century.

It features Romanesque columns and capitals, vestiges of the Romanesque cathedral, but the majority of the columns date from the Gothic period. The transverse arches supporting the vault are from the 14th century. The supports of the galleries, located in the nave, near the choir, feature friezes with triglyphs and metopes. These friezes are imitations of the degenerate Gallo-Roman style, dating from the Romanesque period (12th century). The choir contains ancient stained-glass windows from the Gothic period. It was extensively remodeled in the 18th century in the Baroque style with a red marble colonnade running along the apse wall and framing the statues of the four evangelists, a staff glory, and a polychrome marble altar. Above the stalls are six large paintings. Three of them are signed Thierry and depict scenes from the life of Moses; the other three are works by the Montpellier painter Raoux and show scenes from the lives of Constantine and his mother, Saint Helena. The sacristy was built in 1443 by Bishop William of Montjoie, at the same time as the chapter house, and the walls are partly covered with ancient frescoes, restored in 1917. These frescoes were seriously damaged during the Wars of Religion, then coated with a whitewash that had to be removed later. They date from the 14th and 15th centuries and adorn the walls of many chapels: the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the Chapel of the Dead in particular."

Enjoy life

"Beautiful cathedral well worth visiting. Be sure to also visit the peaceful cloisters. There is currently an art exhibition there."

Shannon Jones

"Very beautiful place, dated back to the 13th century.

You can actually climb to the top of the tower to have a bird view of the city. On the way there you will reach a balcony where you can see the church better as well."

S.R. Wen