Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Gaudens

About

Inhabited since the Iron Age, Saint-Gaudens was originally called ‘Mas-Saint-Pierre’, but after the shepherd boy Guadens was killed by the Visigoths in the 5th century, it was renamed in honor of his martyrdom. The city flourished through the Middle Ages, thanks in part to it important market, and between the 11th and 13th centuries erected the Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Gaudens, which was once one of the most important religious buildings in the region. Built between the 11th and 13th centuries, the church exemplifies Pyrenean Romanesque architecture. The walls of the 11th century Romanesque church exhibit Aubusson tapestries woven in the 18th century, while the beautiful organ case, a national monument, dates from before 1662. The altar is presided over by a gilded fresco of Jesus. Visitors can also enjoy a stroll through the serene cloister, the columns of which are adorned with ornately carved capitals.