CASE DE MONTSERRAT

This house is one of the oldest in Cazères, it was built in the second half of the 16th century (in 1547). It was a family property, outside the city walls "outside the door of the Mount in the suburb of Villeneuve". After the death of the last owner, Doctor Arnaud de Saint Jehan, the building was put up for sale and acquired in the 1610s by the famous Abbey of Montserrat, a major pilgrimage site in Catalonia. A "Procurator General of Montserrat" will be master of the place until 1792 for the kingdom of France. He will be in charge of promoting the cult of the black Virgin "la Moreneta" and will make, each year, quests in all France and even beyond, in order to collect sums intended to cover during 3 days the expenses of lodging of the pilgrims on the way towards Montserrat. During the revolution, the Case was confiscated by the Republic, then sold at auction to private individuals. Little by little, the building fell into disrepair. The Municipality finally bought it and began its restoration in 1989. In 1992, the oratory of Our Lady, dedicated to the Black Madonna of Montserrat, was also restored. A copy of the Virgin (offered by the Catalan Benedictines) can be seen there. Cazères was also an important Jacobean center with a brotherhood, a pilgrims' house and a hospital. Nowadays, the St Jacques Society has taken over from the old brotherhood. The back of the chapel is decorated with a mural representing the Montserrat painted by Michel Pujol in 1992. Also to be seen in the hut, the chimney of the 1st floor, regional renaissance style of the 16th century in bricks.