Église Saint-Jacques de Béziers, Romanesque church in Béziers, France.

Église Saint-Jacques de Béziers is a Romanesque church at the southern end of the Biterrois hill, outside the old ramparts. Its pale beige masonry body has a terracotta-tiled roof, a lower aisle with two tall round-headed windows, a small round window in the taller wall section, and a square stone bell tower with a clock face and pyramidal roof topped by a cross. The pentagonal chevet is built of ashlar on a seven-course base, with short columns, acanthus capitals and an ovolo frieze.

Built in the first quarter of the 12th century on a Carolingian origin, the church housed the Abbey of Saint-Geneviève; its first known abbot, Aymeric, is mentioned in 907, and Viscount Raymond II of Béziers was buried there in 969. After the abbey was suppressed in 1790, it became a parish church. Two chapels were added in the 15th century, repairs followed in the 17th century, and the church was enlarged in 1828.

The church was originally called Saint-Jacques-Saint-Michel, since a tradition held that churches built on a height were placed under an archangel's patronage. It housed the Abbey of Saint-Geneviève and, together with the cathedral, served as a stop for jacquets, pilgrims walking to Santiago de Compostela. The abbey was suppressed in 1790 and the building became a simple parish church.

The church stands on Place Saint-Jacques south of the old town, ringed by plane trees, with a belvedere behind it looking over the Orb valley. The apse was listed as a monument historique on 3 September 1912, part of the nave on 13 March 1967. Approach on foot from the old town, as the site sits at the end of the Biterrois hill.

The church was originally called Saint-Jacques-Saint-Michel, since tradition held that any church built on a height should be sponsored by an archangel. It housed the Abbey of Saint-Geneviève, whose first known abbot, Aymeric, is documented in 907; Viscount Raymond II of Béziers was buried here in 969.