Cathédrale de Mende

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Privat is the episcopal seat of the diocese of Mende. In the town centre of the prefecture of the Lozère, it has been listed as a historic monument since 1906 and is the only fully Gothic building in the département. Its construction was decided in the 1360s by Pope Urban V; it succeeded three earlier sanctuaries, Merovingian, pre-Romanesque and Romanesque.

Richly decorated, it suffered during the Wars of Religion and had to be largely rebuilt in the early 17th century; it was completed in the 19th century with a Neo-Gothic portal. Raised to the rank of minor basilica in 1874, it notably venerates a 12th-century Black Virgin. Its furnishings include 17th-century organs and woodwork, early 18th-century Aubusson tapestries and a 20th-century high altar. It also keeps the clapper of the 'Non-Pareille', the largest bell in Christendom when it was installed.

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