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Origin and history

The Saint-Sauveur Cathedral of Vabres-l'Abbaye, located in the eponymous village of Aveyron, is an ancient cathedral that became a parish church. It was erected in the 14th and 15th centuries, but its history dates back to the creation of the bishopric of Vabres in 1317, when the abbey church was elevated to the rank of cathedral. His original term, dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Denis, evolved towards Saint Peter, and finally to the Holy Savior (Jesus Christ), reflecting the liturgical and political transformations of the time.

The cathedral experienced several episodes of destruction and reconstruction. In 1568 it was set on fire by the Protestants, and in 1594 its degraded state required a reconstruction entrusted to the mason Mathieu Mazet of Vimenet. The works, financed in part by the Rouergue communities, allowed to bury Bishop Francis III of La Valette in 1622. A major restoration took place between 1715 and 1718 under the impetus of Bishop Le Filleul de La Chapelle. In 1791 Jean-Maximilien Lamarque ravaged the building by demolishing the high altar to erect a monument in Marat, marking a violent revolutionary episode.

Ranked among historical monuments in 1992, the cathedral illustrates the religious and political upheavals in southwestern France. Its architecture, marked by successive reconstructions, bears witness to the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants during the Wars of Religion, as well as the Baroque restorations of the eighteenth century. Today it is a communal property and remains a symbol of the religious and historical heritage of Aveyron, open to the visit and anchored in the landscape of Vabres-l-Abbaye.

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