One year after the discovery of the cracks in the religious building, studies are still being carried out and the evolution of the situation monitored with attention. For the moment, the conditions are not met for the cathedral of Montauban to reopen its doors.
A year later, the situation of Montauban cathedral has not really changed. Brief step back. In October 2020, the services of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs noted the appearance of several cracks in the first bay of the vessel and the side chapels. Plaster witnesses are then placed urgently but will give way from the first days.
“Faced with continued movements and as a precautionary measure, after consultation with Mgr
Ginoux, bishop of Montauban, the state services have taken the decision to close the cathedral in
public by prefectural decree of November 25, 2020“explains the Prefecture of Tarn et Garonne in a press release published this morning.
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Crackmeters were set up in December 2020 to monitor the development of disorders, with alert thresholds. During this time, everything is in place to find a lasting solution. On April 12, 2021, the Toulouse administrative court ordered a new expertise entrusted to Yves Baduel, legal expert. Objective: verification of water supply and pluvial networks, installation of inclinometers on the western massif, geotechnical surveys. The final report is expected in May 2022.
The Cathedral remains closed
All eyes are on this large building site located near the cathedral. A 5-level underground car park should be created here. Did the work cause the cracks? Current studies could provide an answer to this thorny question.
In the meantime, the cathedral of Montauban remains closed. “With regard to the continuation of structural movements, the fall of materials regularly observed (plasters, mortars), the expertise in progress, the responsibility of the State as owner of the building, the security conditions do not have not yet met for a reopening of the building to the public“specifies the Prefecture of Tarn-et-Garonne.
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The Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption cathedral was built between 1692 and 1739. It is one of the rare cathedrals in France built during the classical period. Built according to the plans of the king’s greatest architects (François d’Orbay, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Robert de Cotte), it is characterized by its imposing white stone facade, with two symmetrical bell towers, initially decorated with sculptures by Marc Arcis . It houses the famous Vow of Louis XIII, a major work of Ingres (1824) recently restored.
The cathedral, owned by the State, was classified as a Historic Monument on August 9, 1906.
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