The best city hikes and walks around Agen

A first church dedicated to Saint Catherine was built in the 13th century, during the founding of the bastide. Having become too small, dilapidated, and threatening to collapse, the municipality decided on its demolition at the end of the 19th century. This monumental project would never have seen the light of day without Georges Leygues, a major political figure of the time (deputy of Lot-et-Garonne and several times minister). Thanks to his immense influence and personal fortune, he financed and championed the project to endow his hometown with an exceptional monument.

The bridge owes its name to Nicolas de Cieutat (baron of Pujols) and his son Arnaud. In 1585, they successfully led the heroic defense of Villeneuve-sur-Lot against the troops of Marguerite de Valois (Queen Margot). It initially comprised five arches and three fortified square brick towers with portcullises and machicolations, intended for the defense of the town. At the beginning of the 17th century, violent floods swept away two arches and its central tower. In 1643, by order of Cardinal de Richelieu, the bridge was rebuilt with a single monumental arch spanning 36 meters, giving it its current asymmetrical silhouette.

This beautiful Voie Verte, created in 2008, 2009 and 2010, connects Villeneuve-sur-Lot to Casseneuil. It follows the path of two old railway lines on the outskirts of Villeneuve-sur-Lot and at the entrance to Casseneuil. Between these two sections, it is a pretty path that was created along the stream of "La Masse".

A first church dedicated to Saint-Catherine was erected in the 13th century, during the founding of the bastide. Having become too small, dilapidated and threatening to collapse, the municipality decided to demolish it at the end of the 19th century. This monumental project would never have seen the light of day without Georges Leygues, a major political figure of the time (deputy for Lot-et-Garonne and several times minister). Thanks to his immense influence and personal fortune, he financed and championed the project to endow his hometown with an exceptional monument.

At the time of Saint Francis of Assisi's death in 1226, the Order of Friars Minor had 240 convents, 60 of which were located throughout Aquitaine. Since some of the documents of the Cordeliers convent in Agen were destroyed during the Protestant occupation of the city, the exact date of the first convent's founding is unknown. Father B. Villate wrote in 1715 to the Bishop of Agen, François Hébert, that it was founded in 1291. But elsewhere, we know that the Cordeliers convent was founded after that of the Jacobins and before that of the Carmelites, that is, between 1240 and 1272. Bishop Pierre Jerlandi was buried in the Cordeliers church in 1271. In his will dated July 25, 1262, Amanieu d'Albret bequeathed "als frais Menors d'Agen, dus cens sols." We can therefore assume that the Cordeliers had settled in Agen before 1262. [1] Their first convent was established outside the city walls, near the Saint-Michel gate, probably in front of the Saint-Louis gate, in the enclosure of the Discalced Carmelites where tombs were found by the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, that is to say, between the streets Palissy, Mascaron, Lamouroux and the Garonne. The donations received led to the Cordeliers' convent being called the Golden Convent. For Abbot Barrère, the nickname Doré would not come from the wealth of the convent but from an alteration of the name Dovère which was given by the archbishops of Bourges to several of their houses and monasteries. This would be due to a chapel founded in the 9th century nearby by a Randulphe de Bourges. The church must have been as large as the Jacobin Church because it was here that homage was paid by the nobility and communities of the Agenais to King Edward I of England in 1286. In 1336, Philip VI of Valois, considering that the Cordeliers convent, leaning against the city walls, could be a danger in the event of a conflict with the King of England, decided to seize it and build a fortress there. He obtained permission from Pope Benedict XII on the condition that a new convent be established within the walls. Demolition of the convent began in 1338. The Friars Minor initially settled near the Church of Notre-Dame-du-Bourg but encountered hostility from the canons of Saint-Étienne Cathedral. No longer having premises in Agen, the Friars Minor appealed to the King of France. His son, Prince Jean, while in Guyenne at the time, had the destroyed convent appraised and ordered them to be paid the estimated value of 5,000 livres tournois. This sum, supplemented by other gifts, allowed them to initially settle in the Saint-Georges Hospital. However, a conflict with the Augustinians, who found them too close to their convent, forced them to move away and settle in 1345 in the Saint-Hilaire district, near the Saint-Georges Gate. To appease the criticism of the canons of Saint-Étienne, the Friars Minor gave them the marble from their first cloister. The construction of their church was completed in 1348, as on that date the Cordeliers obtained permission from the Bishop of Agen, Amanieu de Fargis, to have their cemetery blessed by Brother Philippe (Filippo de Ursone), Bishop of Ajaccio. The church follows the traditional plan of southern Gothic churches. It has a wide, single nave without a transept and is lined with shallow side chapels. It is built in half stone and half brick. It comprises three bays with ribbed vaults. The apse has seven sides. Its most interesting and remarkable feature is the inverted hull-shaped roof structure of a boat.[5] The old Cordeliers church had only a small square bell tower. The church's large windows were fitted with stained-glass windows. They are dated 1869. One of the windows bears the signature of Bordeaux master glassmaker Joseph Villiet.

The Martrou Chapel was built in the Romanesque period. The presence of these different sanctuaries made Agen a stop on a pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. A Martyr's Hospital[ was built next to the Martrou Chapel, which became its chapel, near the Saint-Caprais collegiate church. A Saint-Jacques Hospital was founded in the second half of the 14th century and not in the 12th century[. In 1562, the different hospitals of Agen, Saint-Antoine, Saint-Georges, Saint-Michel and Saint-Jacques, were united at the Martyr's Hospital[]. The whole was called the Saint-Jacques-du-Martyre Hospital. This hospital was closed in 1819 after its merger with the General Hospital for the Poor, which then took the name Saint-Jacques Hospital, before becoming the Hôtel du Département de Lot-et-Garonne in 1992. The Martrou Chapel was part of the Saint-Caprais collegiate church. It currently belongs to the Sainte-Foy church. It has undergone numerous alterations, from the Romanesque period to the 20th century. It was restored after the merger of the various hospitals of Agen, after 1563. A room was built above the nave, which served as a meeting place for the Grey Penitents. The choir fresco was painted in 1934 by Giovanni Masutti, an Italian-born painter who had worked in other churches in the department. The Diocesan Association of Agen undertook the renovation of the Martrou Church (enhancement of the bell tower, improvement of the acoustics, heating, paving of the crypt, restoration of the façade, painting of the choir, lighting, and whitewashing of the interior walls) in 2007. It was given a non-religious, but rather cultural, purpose. The current chapel consists of a rectangular, paneled nave and a choir with a semi-domed vault. Below is a crypt built in the 4th century by the first Christians of Agen, on the site where the bodies of the first martyrs were buried. The building was listed as a historic monument on November 29, 1995.

A chapel was built near a Christian cemetery outside the first city wall. The current chapel was built at the end of the 13th century when it became a parish church under the name of Notre-Dame du Bourg. It was included in the second city wall of Agen. In the 15th century, the initially square chevet was replaced by a polygonal apse. On the night of December 1, 1561, the Protestant rulers of the city looted and burned Saint-Étienne Cathedral, the Saint-Caprais collegiate church, and Notre-Dame du Bourg. A report on the condition of the churches was then drawn up by the city authorities. The church was restored and enlarged by piercing the south wall to build a side aisle. The Bishop of Agen, Jules Mascaron, made it a place of devotion, which led to its second name, Notre-Dame de Grâce. Following a decree from Napoleon I, the cemetery was abolished in 1809. The church was decorated with stained-glass windows created by Bordeaux master glassmaker Henri Feur in 1884. The building was listed as a historic monument on February 22, 1926.

Construction of the Agen canal bridge was almost halted permanently due to competition from waterways and the railway. Its history is, of course, closely linked to that of the entire Canal Lateral. On August 25, 1839, the foundation stone was laid by the Duke of Orléans, eldest son of Louis-Philippe, and Princess Helene of Mecklenburg, his wife. In 1841, work was halted. The bridge would be used for a time by farmers' carts to avoid a detour via the old stone bridge. On May 5, 1846, a law mandated the resumption of work, and the bridge was completed in 1847. But that wasn't the end of the worries. This bridge could perhaps have become a railway bridge: In 1850, those who exclusively supported the railway raised the question of filling in the canal cut (in its entirety) to lay the tracks. It wasn't until March 1856 that the entire Garonne lateral canal was completed. This bridge itself is 539 meters long, 12.48 meters wide, 2.70 meters deep, and has 23 arches. The waterway is 8.80 meters wide, which prevents crossings. Holding basins were built on either side of the aqueduct. The civil engineers Jean-Baptiste de Baudre and Jean Gratien de Job were responsible for its construction. It is made entirely of freestone from Quercy.