Saint-Sernin is the former abbey church of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin, built on the site of a 4th-century basilica that held the body of Saint Saturnin, Toulouse's first bishop. Bishop Pierre Roger set aside offerings for rebuilding in the 1010s. The altar was dedicated by Pope Urban II on May 24, 1096, while the building was still largely incomplete. The article names no architect and says its plan was copied for the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
It is Romanesque and mostly brick, with a cruciform plan, an ambulatory and radiating chapels. The interior measures 377 by 210 by 69 feet (115 by 64 by 21 m). The nave is barrel-vaulted with four aisles. The chevet is the oldest part, from the 11th century, and the bell tower leans slightly west.
Viollet-le-Duc restored it in 1860, and his changes are being removed. It is part of the UNESCO site Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France, inscribed in 1998.
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