From a temple to Apollo to a Catholic basilica in Toulouse

Notre-Dame de la Daurade is a basilica in Toulouse, France, with a history that dates back to the 5th or 6th century. Initially, the site was a temple dedicated to Apollo. However, in 410, Emperor Honorius allowed the conversion of pagan temples to Christianity, marking a turning point in the history of the basilica.

The current name of the basilica, ‘Deaurade’, derives from the antique name “Deaurata”, referencing the golden mosaics that decorated the church. Linguistic evidence from inscriptions suggests that the church was in use by the Visigoths, who adhered to Arian Christianity, before coming into Catholic hands following the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The basilica was demolished in 1761 to make way for the construction of Toulouse's riverside quays. A new church was built during the 19th century and is now a Monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

The basilica had housed the shrine of a Black Madonna. The original icon was stolen in the fifteenth century, and its first replacement was burned by Revolutionaries in 1799 on the Place du Capitole. The icon presented today is an 1807 copy of the fifteenth century Madonna. Blackened by the hosts of candles, the second Madonna has been known since the sixteenth century as Notre Dame La Noire.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons