Agde Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, stands on the bank of the Hérault river in southern France. Construction began in 1173 under Bishop William II of Agde and was completed in the nineteenth century. It replaced a Carolingian church of the ninth century, built on the foundations of a Roman church of the fifth century, which stood on the site of a temple of Diana.
The building is Romanesque and Baroque and is made of black basalt from the nearby Mont St. Loup quarries. It is fortified, with walls two to three meters thick, a square tower 115 feet (35 meters) high that could serve as a keep, and prominent crenellations and machicolations.
The last bishop of Agde was guillotined during the Terror, and the see was not restored. The Romanesque cloister was demolished in 1857. A bell cast in 1665 became a monument historique in 1959.
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