Discover Cahors inheritance

Located on a peninsula formed by a loop of the Batch, surrounded by hills, the Town of Cahors appears at the 1st century A.C. and had the name of Divona Cadurcorum.

the anthic town  This name evokes the old the city-sanctuary established around the crowned source of Divona, current Fontaine of the Carthusian monks.  "the Arc of Diane", vestige of the old Gallo-Roman thermal baths and the foundations of the theatre (under the current Room of Agriculture) are the only elements which reached us.  The period of the great cruel invasions (Ve in VIIIe S) modifies the aspect of Cahors.  Under the episcopate of Saint Didier (636 to 655), considered as the large reconstructor of Cahors, the town was equipped with a powerful wall folding up the town on the slope east of the peninsula around the Cathedral where the medieval town will be developped .

The medieval town  Their power is expressed in XIIIe century on the frontages of the houses of the "right street" (Nationale streets, Château of the King and Soubirous): broad arcades for the shops and the workshops, beautiful alignments of coupled windows, with rubble fillings or trefoil on the floors. The brick is the material most usually used, the stone being reserved for the arcades of the shops and the carved elements.

St etienne cathedral  The Cathedral results from various times of construction campaigns from the 11th to the 17th century, whose restorations were at during the 19th. accentuated the disparity. The nave (1120) belongs to the Romance building started in 1112. It is made up of two square spans glazes by two cupolas on pendentive of 16 Mr. of scale. The Northern gate (1150) is connected with the great Romance sets of Moissac, Beaulieu, Souillac, the apse started in XIIe S., was rebuilt between 1285 and 1293.  The Northern gate

The wall and bridge valentre  The wall : In about 1345 the existing walls were doubled, a new defensive barrier is realised in the north of the town (punctuated of 11 square towers and 2 towers doors) closing again the meander of the river.  Three bridges cross it: Oldest, the "Old Bridge" with its five turns of defense, ensured the North-South connections.

Gambetta street and the modern town  During the 19th century, the town reconquers the whole of the boucle du Lot, choosing as principal axis the old ditch of the fortifications, today Boulevard Gambetta.  The city shows its institutions throughout this boulevard which takes its current aspect : new Town hall (1837-47), Theatre (1832-42), Law courts (1857), Library (1890).

Cloître and chapelle st-gausbert  In 1493, under the episcopate of Antoine d' Alamand, the chapter could finance the rebuilding of the cloister, in a Gothic style blazing of a sumptuous decoration.

discovering cruse  stroll with accompanying notes of 1h 30 in boat. 4 departures per day with 11h/15h/16h 30/18h (on reservation except season). - At the beginning of Cahors: quay the Valentré Terraces.