Provence romane: cloister and cathedral of Fréjus
The coastal city of Fréjus is part of the French Riviera, in the département of Var. It lies by the Mediterranean at the eastern end of the gulf of Saint-Tropez. Historically, it was the place of a bishopric, today Fréjus shares it with the much larger city of Toulon, where the bishop’s seat has been moved.
In Fréjus there remains an episcopal group attesting to the very early presence of Christians: first a paleo-Christian baptistry built during the 400s and the second oldest in France after the Saint-Jean baptistry of Poitiers (which I photographed as part of the “Grand Tour 2022” and uploaded pictures to Flickr). Unfortunately, when I visited in June 2022, that baptistry was closed for restoration and thus out of bounds. Second, a very interesting cathedral with two parallel naves, one paleo-Christian as well, the other Romanesque. And third, a Romanesque cloister for the regular canons of the cathedral, built during the 12th century.
We will visit the cloister first, then the cathedral.
Let’s step into the cathedral right next to the cloister to admire the impressive Romanesque nave (what was once the pre-Romanesque nave, on the left of it, was so heavily remodeled during Gothic times that it is no very interesting anymore).
Measuring a good 12 meters in width, this nave built around 1150 gives a powerful impression of strength and solidity —without breaking the record set by the astounding church in Saint-Paulien in Auvergne (see below).
Provence romane: cloister and cathedral of Fréjus
The coastal city of Fréjus is part of the French Riviera, in the département of Var. It lies by the Mediterranean at the eastern end of the gulf of Saint-Tropez. Historically, it was the place of a bishopric, today Fréjus shares it with the much larger city of Toulon, where the bishop’s seat has been moved.
In Fréjus there remains an episcopal group attesting to the very early presence of Christians: first a paleo-Christian baptistry built during the 400s and the second oldest in France after the Saint-Jean baptistry of Poitiers (which I photographed as part of the “Grand Tour 2022” and uploaded pictures to Flickr). Unfortunately, when I visited in June 2022, that baptistry was closed for restoration and thus out of bounds. Second, a very interesting cathedral with two parallel naves, one paleo-Christian as well, the other Romanesque. And third, a Romanesque cloister for the regular canons of the cathedral, built during the 12th century.
We will visit the cloister first, then the cathedral.
Let’s step into the cathedral right next to the cloister to admire the impressive Romanesque nave (what was once the pre-Romanesque nave, on the left of it, was so heavily remodeled during Gothic times that it is no very interesting anymore).
Measuring a good 12 meters in width, this nave built around 1150 gives a powerful impression of strength and solidity —without breaking the record set by the astounding church in Saint-Paulien in Auvergne (see below).