Basilique St-Sernin
Walk north from the place du Capitole to reach the St-Sernin district. Consecrated in 1096, the basilica is the largest, finest, and purest Romanesque church in Europe, topped by a wedding-cake style bell tower. An important stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, it was also the burial place of the Counts of Toulouse. The interior may be plain but it impresses with its enormous size and double side aisles. The altar, still used today, was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. The old baroque retables (altarpieces) and shrine in the ambulatory around the church have been reset; the relics here are those of the apostles and the first bishops of Toulouse. In the crypt are the body parts of more major Catholic saints, plus a thorn said to be from the Crown of Thorns.
Walk north from the place du Capitole to reach the St-Sernin district. Consecrated in 1096, the basilica is the largest, finest, and purest Romanesque church in Europe, topped by a wedding-cake style bell tower. An important stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, it was also the burial place of the Counts of Toulouse. The interior may be plain but it impresses with its enormous size and double side aisles. The altar, still used today, was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. The old baroque retables (altarpieces) and shrine in the ambulatory around the church have been reset; the relics here are those of the apostles and the first bishops of Toulouse. In the crypt are the body parts of more major Catholic saints, plus a thorn said to be from the Crown of Thorns.
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