Tulle Cathedral (french: links=no, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Tulle) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in the town of

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catho ...

, France. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is the seat of the Bishopric of Tulle, which was established in 1317 after the

Albigensian crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

History

The diocese of Tulle was erected in 1317, in the territory of the Bas-Limousin in which belonged to the

Bishopric of Limoges The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limoges (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lemovicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Limoges'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the '' départments'' of Haute-Vienne and ...

. The

abbey church A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

was then promoted to the cathedral. The church was built on the site of a

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

abbey whose holders had acquired the episcopal dignity. Due to delays to the original architectural plan, construction went from the Romanesque design to the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

architectural style. These comprised changes in the cloister of the 13th century which now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. The pillars are of Romanesque design and the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

of the nave is of Gothic design. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

stands tall by its long spire reaching up to 75 meters. It dates back from the 14th century. It consists of three floors surmounted by an elegant octagonal spire and surrounded by graceful bell-towers. On November 27, 1793, the cult of the goddess Raison was celebrated in the cathedral, and then closed to worship. The building was looted and ransacked. Later, a cannon factory was established there. The cathedral's nave was renovated in 1805.

Sources

Catholic Hierarchy: Diocese of Tulle
* http://www.lesconcertsducloitretulle.com/
Tulle Cathedral
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''The Planet's Cathedral''

Tulle Cathedral
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''Structurae''
Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Churches in Corrèze {{France-RC-cathedral-stub