Basilique Saint-Nazaire (Basilica of Saint-Nazaire), Carcassonne (must see)

In the sixth century during the era of the Visigoths, Theodoric the Great presided over the construction of the original church destined to occupy the site of the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire. A Carolingian cathedral later occupied the space but it was destroyed in the 1100s. In the 13th century the cathedral was reconstructed in a Gothic style.

It was the cathedral of Carcassonne until 1803, when it ceded that title to Catedral Saint-Michel de Carcassonne. The church was classified as a historical monument in 1840. In 1898 the church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica.

The basilica is laid out in a Latin cross configuration. Its interior length is 226 feet. The nave is 53 feet wide and the transept measures 115 feet. The tripartite nave is Romanesque and easily the oldest part of the church. The main entrance in the north wall is made of two doors framed by five receding arches also in the Romanesque style.

The west wall has a fortress like facade as with most languedoc-roussillon churches of that period. The transept and choir are Gothic. The central stained glass window of the choir is from 1280. It is one of the oldest such windows in France. With the upper trefoils it shows the life of Jesus in 16 pictures.