Marseille - Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure

Marseille, today the second most populous city in France, was founded around 600 BC by Greek settlers. It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia.

There were always conflicts with the Celtic tribes that ruled Gaul. 125 BC Massalia summoned the troops of the Roman Empire for help against the attacks of Gallic tribes. During the course of the war, the entire territory of southern Gaul was annexed by the Romans as the province of Gallia Narbonensis. The city itself was able to retain its independence for several decades but in 49 BC it was finally conquered and integrated into the province of Narbonensis.

At the beginning of the 5th century AD, the monastery of Saint-Victor was founded, which was to become the residence of the bishops of Marseille from 750 to 960. In 481 Marseille fell to the Visigoths, 508 to the Ostrogoths and 536 to the Franks. Destroyed by the Saracens, the city was rebuilt in the 10th century and placed under the Vicomtes de Marseille. For a few years, Marseille was an independent republic but when Charles of Anjou, brother of King Louis IX. of France, became Count of Provence, he submitted to Marseille. In 1423 Alfonso V of Aragon conquered and devastated the city. René, Count of Provence, rebuilt it and after the death of his successor, Count Charles of Maine, it became part of the French crown in 1481.

In the early 5th century there was already a bishop's church with a baptistery on the site of today's cathedral. The foundations of the complex were excavated during the construction of the Nouvelle Major. The church was destroyed during three Saracen raids, the last in 923, and then restored. Nevertheless, it was in such a state of disrepair that a complete rebuild started in 1073. This 11th-century Romanesque cathedral was a three-aisled basilica on a rectangular plan.

During the French Revolution, the diocese of Marseille was abolished, the cathedral became a parish church and later temporarily closed later. The bells were melted down, the sculptures destroyed and the historical furnishings sold. The building suffered severe damage. In 1823 the poorly restored Vieille Major became a bishop's church again. 1852 visited Napoleon III. Marseilles and laid the foundation stone for the present cathedral, the "Nouvelle Major". It was built on an enormous scale (141 m long with a 50 m transept) in the Byzantine and Roman Revival styles. The foundation stone was laid by Emperor Napoleon III in 1852. It was designed by Léon Vaudoyer and Henri-Jacques Espérandieu. It was completed in 1896.