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Origin and history

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Caussade, originally named Notre-Dame del Fraisse, has its origins in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. A structure was added above the choir in 1455, and donations, such as that of notary Arnaud Prunas in 1494, financed its construction. The tower, made of limestone and brick, was completed around 1512-1530, with a Latin inscription attesting this period. The building suffered major destruction in 1562 during the Wars of Religion, when the Protestant captain Symphorian of Durfort seized Caussade, burning the church and precipitating churchmen from the bell tower.

After 1570, the church was demolished to strengthen the urban enclosure, leaving only the bell tower as a watchtower. Causade, now a Protestant stronghold, was taken over by Louis XIII in 1621. In 1624, the Toulouse parliament ordered its reconstruction with the materials of the enclosure, under the impulse of the local parish priest. The work, begun in 1633, was completed in 1637. The bell tower, restored by Viollet-le-Duc between 1839 and 1847, saw the addition of stone slots.

The church, which was too small in the 19th century, was completely rebuilt from 1878 in a southern neo-Gothic style, under the direction of architects Henry Bach and Gabriel Bréfeil (a Bach student). The stained glass windows are made by Gustave Pierre Dagrant. The bell tower, classified in 1840, and the rest of the building, inscribed in 2015, testify to this turbulent history, mixing destruction, reconstruction and architectural adaptations.

The tower, symbol of resistance, combines a 14th century stone base and a 15th century brick arrow. Its 53.40 metres dominate a 56.30 metre nave, illustrating the evolution of techniques and cultural needs. The present church, a communal property, thus embodies almost seven centuries of religious and military history in Occitanie.

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