Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Albi

Albi seems to be another one of those important places which I have never heard about. Parts of it are actually inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage site list under the fancy name of Episcopal City of Albi. There are a number of monuments here in Albi which comprise the UNESCO listing and I will be visiting all of them since I have the whole day to spend here. It is not a public holiday anymore so shops are already open. My first port of call is the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia. This probably one of the most prominent monuments here in Albi.

It is hard to miss. It is tall, actually, very tall for a church. Indeed it wasn’t initially built as a church but rather a fortress. The fortress was the result of the crusades. In the end the fortress became a church and the intention is to emphasize the power of the Catholic Church. I couldn’t think of any other way to project this power than building a very large structure. It is actually several centuries old and some consider it to be largest brick building in the world. The cathedral is dedicated to the Saint Cecilia who is the patroness of musicians.

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