Albi's huge St Cecilia cathedral...part One of April 10

Our feet are aching!  We pretty much walked all day.

We spent the morning in St Cecilia Cathedral, reputedly the largest brick building in the world.  The church was in response to the Cathar Heresy against which was waged the Albigensian Crusade in the 1200s which brutally crushed the believers.  The church built the huge, austere, fortress-like church as a symbol to the locals not to mess with it.   It looks more like a castle than a church.  The bell tower added in 1352 is 256 feet high.  Photos cannot convey how massive the church is.

Inside it is totally painted, carved and decorated in contrast to the forbidding exterior. The vaultd ceiling is totally covered.  Amazingly, it was decorated in only 4  years.  The nave is the widest Gothic nave in France.  At one end is a massive medieval painting of Judgment Day, painted in 1474.  It shows gruesome punishments for sinners.

Dividing the church designed for the commoners from the high and mighty is the only remaining stone filigree rood screen left in France, the others having been destroyed by the French Revolution. The screen also added mystery to the ceremonies as the commoners could not see what was going on at the altar.  The ornate stone carving was most impressive and intricate.  Behind it was the choir area reserved for the powerful.  Outside of it are dozens of very realistic carvings of saints, quite amazing.  More were inside the choir.

Along the outside walls are many small chapels, all intricately painted.  We were amazed at the use of Escher-like geometry.