The Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption cathedral in Montauban was classified as a historical monument in 1906. -
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Built between 1692 and 1739, Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Montauban is characterized by its white facade.
On this building, classified as a historic monument since 1906, impressive cracks have appeared.
They were spotted last Friday, during a control visit by agents of the Departmental Architecture and Heritage Unit of Tarn-et-Garonne.
Cracks present at the western end of the nave of the building, in particular between the high windows and the large arches of the first bay of the monument.
"It seems that the western massif - including the facade, the organ stand and the two bell towers - very recently underwent an important structural movement which separated it from the rest of the building", indicate the services of the Prefect of Occitanie.
Diagnosis and follow-up
After a visit to the Regional Conservation of Historic Monuments on Monday, a company was commissioned to pose a dozen plaster witnesses in order to check whether the disorders have stabilized or are still active.
At the same time, an emergency mission to ensure that the cathedral is monitored by sensors and fissurometers, as well as a structural diagnosis, have been entrusted to the chief architect of Historical Monuments and will begin on Monday.
These studies will perhaps allow us to say whether these sudden cracks have a link with the construction in progress of an underground car park on the square of the cathedral.
The nave of the cathedral had been completely restored between 1997 and 1998, and, last December, a report had indicated the good sanitary condition of this part of the building.
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