Pamiers Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in Pamiers, France

Pamiers Cathedral is built of Toulouse brick, with a single nave of four bays and chapels set between the buttresses. Its 14th-century octagonal bell tower, modelled on the Jacobins in Toulouse, has twin windows with mitre arches and a 19th-century gallery by Ferdinand De Coma. The 12th-century Romanesque portal survives with carved capitals.

The church, first dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, became Sainte-Marie du Mercadal in 1384 and was raised to cathedral rank in 1499. The 12th-century building was largely destroyed in the 16th-century Wars of Religion, leaving only the bell tower as a watchtower. The nave was rebuilt and finished in 1689, with the design attributed to François Mansart or his nephew Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

The church was first dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, and was called Sainte-Marie du Mercadal, "of the market", in 1384; it became a cathedral in 1499 and is now dedicated to Saint Antonin. A keystone shows his boat sailing from Pamiers to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val.

The building is located in central Pamiers and remains an active place of worship with regular services. Visitors can explore the interior during daytime hours while respecting the times when services are taking place.

The 14th-century bell tower, in Toulouse Gothic style, was modelled on the Jacobins church in Toulouse; its paired windows end in mitre arches. In the 19th century the diocesan architect Ferdinand De Coma crowned it with a gallery copied from the Jacobins to lighten a tower that looked too massive. Crenellations and arrow slits recall its use as a watchtower during the Wars of Religion.