Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Collège Notre-Dame de Villefranche-de-Rouergue was founded in 1099 by Raymond IV de Saint-Gilles, Count of Toulouse. Originally devoid of a church, the city saw its first stone laid in 1252 after the transfer of the bastide on the right bank of the Aveyron, under the impulse of Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Louis IX. The charter of privileges, signed in 1256, formalizes the creation of the city, built in just four years. Construction of the church began in 1260, following a single-nave southern Gothic plan, but the work was slowed down by conflicts and shortages of materials, especially during the war of Guienne in the 14th century.

In the 15th century, the works resumed thanks to royal subsidies obtained in 1419, allowing the completion of the vaults and the bell tower, although the latter remained unfinished. The stalls, commissioned in 1473 by André Sulpice, were installed in 1496, while the collegiate was consecrated in 1519 by François d'Estaing. The monument suffered damage during the Wars of Religion in 1561, where the stalls were partially destroyed. In the 17th century, changes were made, such as the enlargement of the sacristies and the repositioning of the stalls in 1750.

Ranked a historic monument in 1892, the collegiate had major restorations between 1896 and 1898, under the direction of architect Paul Gout. Its architecture, marked by a 55.50-metre nave flanked by chapels and a 58-metre bell tower, houses remarkable furniture, including 15th-century stalls, 15th and 19th-century stained glass windows, and a 49-bell carillon restored in 2014-2015. The monument thus illustrates almost eight centuries of religious, political and architectural history in Rouergue.

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