Saint-Etienne Cathedral of Bourges

The Cathedral Saint-Etienne of Bourges, built between the end of the {{XIIe}} and the end of the 13th century is the seat of the diocese of Bourges (departments of Expensive and Indre).

It is one of the jewels of the Gothic art in France.

Its single plan, its tympanum, its sculptures and its stained glasses are particularly remarkable. Admirable by its proportions and the unit of its design, it testifies, beyond its architectural beauty, of the power of the Christianisme in medieval France. Its precursory style makes that this cathedral remains an exceptional example in the Gothic architecture. Been unaware of a long time, it is distinguished from all the other cathedrals and does not have anything to envy the prestige of Rheims, Chartres or Notre-Dame de Paris.

The Saint-Etienne cathedral of Bourges was devoted the May 13rd 1324. Like all the churches built before the separation of the Church and the State, it belongs now at the French State. It was classified historic building as of 1862.

In accordance with the law Malraux of 1962, the historical center of Bourges is an protected area since 1965.

The cathedral was registered in December 1992 on the list of the world heritage of UNESCO. In his evaluation report to decide possible inscription of the monument as a cultural asset on the list, the commission of UNESCO notes that “the cathedral of Bourges revêt a very great importance in the development of the Gothic architecture and from the fact that it constitutes a symbol of the power of the Christian religion in France of the Moyen-âge. However its fundamental qualities remain its striking beauty, resulting from a masterly management of a space to the harmonious proportions and of a decoration of more high-quality”.

History

In 1195, Henri de Sully, archbishop of Bourges, brother of Eudes de Sully, bishop of Paris makes a donation in the chapter of the cathedral of Bourges.

This donation will be the starting point of the construction of a new cathedral with Bourges, intended to replace the cathedral Romance, considered to be too small, dating from the {{XIe}} and 12th centuries, of which we do not know large thing. One knows only that there was on the site a center of Christian worship since the 3rd century, at the time where the Roman city of Avaricum sheltered the first Christian community of Gaulle. Four buildings followed one another on the place of the current cathedral: monumental Crypte S were set up by Saint Ursin at the 3rd century, holy Palais, archbishop at the 4th century, and Raoul de Turenne, archbishop at the 9th century. Gozlin, archbishop of royal blood - he was the brother of Robert II the Piles -, was the manufacturer of the first Romance cathedral, at the beginning of the 11th century.

Bourges, city royal since 1100, was located at the time with the southern limit of the royal field, with a few miles of Aquitaine, English possession. Besides the archbishop of Bourges had the title of “Primacy of Aquitaine” and its authority, often disputed, extended until Bordeaux.

this new cathedral is the first Gothic building built in the south of the Loire, and it appeared of great importance as well for the prestige of the King de France, as for that of the archbishop. Figurehead of the capétien field vis-a-vis the South of France, the Saint-Etienne cathedral of Bourges was to be single in its design. It was thus decided to construct a building of great scale, comparable with Notre-Dame de Paris, and to innovate.

With this intention, it was necessary to build beyond the old Gallo-Roman enclosing wall on which had rested the Romance chorus and to overflow in the ditches. The difference in level required the construction of a Soubassement which anticipates exactly the plan of the Chevet. It is the low church which one wrongly calls the crypt.

Construction was undertaken as of 1195, and in 1214 about half of the building - with a little more of the current chorus - was completed.

The plan of the new cathedral is simple, but harmonious. It is about the shape of basilica with vaults which surround the nave. What will make the new building remarkable, they are the prospect for the side walls and the unit of interior space. At the beginning, the archbishop Henri de Sully, seems to be himself inspired of the plan of Notre-Dame de Paris. But, he dies in 1199. Its successor the archbishop Guillaume de Dangeon, former abbot cistercian, takes a big part in the development of the building site and the definition of the iconographic program. The death of Guillaume in 1209, soon followed its canonization, involves an surge of gifts on behalf of the faithful ones and the pilgrims.

After an interruption of ten years, the second construction campaign - Carcass work heavy castings of the Nave and Western frontage - begins in 1225 and will continue until in 1230. On this date the carcass work heavy castings are finished.

Then, work of the frontage was carried out with the idle. In 1313, it was necessary to support the southern tower, in which cracks had appeared, by establishing enormous “pillar-butting”. It forever be possible, because of this brittleness, to establish bells to with it, from where its name of “deaf tower”. Other consolidation work of the frontage was undertaken, and the northern tower was still unfinished at the time of the dedication of the cathedral the May 13rd 1324.

Architects which succeeded the first Master of Bourges - which one is unaware of the name - knew to preserve the coherence and the apparent simplicity of the program, the absence of transept contributing to the effect of unit of space.

When one wanted to complete the northern tower, at the end of the 15th century, this one collapsed, in 1506, and was rebuilt in harmony with the Gothic frontage although it comprises certain decorative elements Renaissance. It was called it “turn of butter”, because it was partly financed by the sums paid by the faithful ones and which were worth to them to be exempted of fast during the Lent.

At the time of the wars of religion, in 1562, Bourges having been taken by the Protestant , the sculptures of the cathedral was seriously damaged.

Outside

The Western face is broadest of the Gothic buildings of France (more than 40 m), with five gates, all with double door, correspondents exactly with the five naves, whose sculptures are particularly splendid. The central gate offers to the glance the splendid scene of the last judgment.

From an architectural point of view, Bourges had an influence on other European cathedrals: The Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (built before, but whose vault of the nave will be carried out after the success of an technical innovation of Bourges: the Bracket), Mans, Coutances and Tolède.

Interior

The cathedral of Bourges surprises as well by its absence of Transept as by its double Bas-côté. This characteristic offers a continuous longitudinal prospect that the traditional cut of a transept breaks elsewhere. The transverse section offers a pyramidal profile. This original provision discovers a unified interior volume.

The stained glasses of the cathedral of Bourges are for a share of the 13th century; to the 16th century, one added new stained glasses, carried out by the artist berruyer Jean Lecuyer.

Photographs

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