Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Rennes-le-château

The cathedral is built on a former Carolingian church, itself on a Gallo-Roman temple. The present building has some elements dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries, but most of the building dates from the 17th period when Louis XIV created the Diocese of Alès to fight the Huguenots.

This beautiful church adjoins the ruins of the Abbey of Alet. Its area dominates the adjoining cemetery and the main street of the village. It is of southern Gothic style. The interior is remarkable, notably with its beautiful frescoes from the 14th century, in the north side chapel, known as Saint Benoit chapel. The building was built by order of the first Bishop of Alet, in the 14th century. A restoration took place in the 17th century, and an extension in the 18th century.

The abbey was built on the Saint-Hilaire chapel dedicated to the first bishop who evangelized the region in the sixth century. The abbey experienced difficulties in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, particularly financial. During the French Revolution, the buildings were sold as national goods.