Saint-Corentin cathedral of Quimper

The cathedral Saint ‑ Corentin with Quimper (France) was built on an old Romance sanctuary, the church Our ‑ Dame (11th century). It is one of the three older Cathédrale S Gothic S of Brittany, with those of Saint-Pol.-of-Leon and Tréguier.

History

Its construction is decided in 1239 by the bishop Rainaud, chancellor of Pierre de Dreux, duke of Brittany. It advances initially relatively quickly but work was slowed down soon by technical difficulties, financial and political: the 14th century is marked by the war of succession and their procession of epidemics. The chorus, devoted in 1287, is completed about 1300, but is completely arched only in 1410, under the reign of Jean V.

The first stone of the frontage is posed in 1424, but the building site was to last twenty ‑ eight years (gate Sainte ‑ Catherine). The vaults of the nave are completely posed only between 1486 and 1493.

Under the Revolution, the cathedral is transformed into temple of the Reason. Furniture, objects crowned and statues are burned. The building is returned to its religious vocation only with the Concordat. Work begins again: it is at this time that the railings of the high galleries of the nave are cut. One of the bishops of the 19th century, Mgr Graveran, decides to take again the project of the arrows, outlined by Claude de Rohan. It imposes on faithful contribution of an annual penny, and this during five years, to finance work. Inside the cathedral, one “reconstitutes” a medieval, even if it means atmosphere to remove retables. Yan Dargent is then engaged to decorate the walls of the vaults. Lastly, it is only in 1854 that the arrows are drawn up. To note between those, an equestrian statue of Gradlon, who would have been crowned king of Cornwall in 388.

The Saint-Corentin cathedral is the subject of operations of restoration since ten years, subsidized by the Ministère of the Culture. It is a question of consolidating the structures of the cathedral, of replacing the damaged stones and of restoring the frescos.

External bonds

Card on the Sde site the Town of Quimper
Card of the ministry for the culture
Card on the site Monum
Card on the site Structurae.de
Card on the site cathedrals of France
Card on Image onlines

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