The cathedral Saint-Etienne of Metz, in the French Department of the the Moselle, is the principal church of the diocese of Metz. It is the cathedral of France having more large surface of Vitraux (nearly 6500 square meters) and presents the largest canopies Gothic S of Europe. With 41 meters under Vault, its Nef is the higher third of France.

History

The current building is the six periods result of constructions.

The sanctuary of Saint-Etienne (S. Upsets)

Old Gallic city, Metz became the seat of a évêché at the 3rd century. As we learns it a passage from the '' Histoire of the Francs '' of Gregoire de Tours (lib. II, C. 6), a sanctuary dedicated to Holy Etienne ( Oratorium beati Stephani ) - which was with the current site of the cathedral, was the only monument saved by the Huns at the time of the bag of the city the Easter Saturday April 7th 451.

The rise of the worship of the first martyr holy Etienne in Occident followed the invention of the relics of the saint to Jerusalem (415). Several other French cathedrals are dedicated to him (Agen, Auxerre, Besancon, Bourges, Cahors, Châlons-in-Champagne, Limoges, Meaux, Sens, Toul, Toulouse) and go up for the majority in Ve century. One can thus suppose that the sanctuary of Etienne saint was relatively recent at the time of the bag of Metz by Attila.

Towards 784, Paul Deacon, monk Benedictine of Lombardy which remained at the court of Charlemagne and Metz, wrote a Histoire of the bishops of Metz according to which Pépin the Brief helped financially the bishop Saint Chrodegang (742-766) to complete work in the sanctuary (Ciborium, Chancel, Presbytérium, Déambulatoire).

The Romance basilica (XIe-XIIIe S.)

Between 965 and 984, the bishop Thierry I {{er}} undertook to rebuild the primitive sanctuary with the financial aid of the emperors Othon I {{er}} and Othon II. The news Basilique was completed under its successor Thierry II and was devoted in 1040.

The rebuilding of the Romance basilica began less than two centuries after its completion.

The Gothic cathedral (XIIIe-XVIe)

In the neighborhoods of the year 1220, according to the will of the bishop Conrad de Scharfeneck the construction of the Cathedral, dedicated to holy Etienne, is undertaken. Construction will be spread out over three centuries to be completed towards 1520.

She is blessed the April 11th 1552.

The neo-classic gate of Blondel (1764)

The cathedral does not undergo any notable change until second half of the 18th century.

Concerned not to remain in remainder compared to Nancy which had just obtained the Place Stanislas, undoubtedly also because “Gothic” art was depreciated and associated wrongly with very close Germany, the marshal of Beautiful-Isle, governor of the Three bishoprices, decided to establish a royal place. In spite of the protests of the Chapter, it made release the accesses of the cathedral by the destruction of the Cloître and the contiguous churches (Saint-Pierre-the-Old man, Saint-Pierre-the-Major, the vault of Lorraine).

The municipal officials of the city call upon the architect Jacques-François Blondel to equip the town of an urban center “to the mode”.

Undertaken in 1762, the adjustment of the Place of Weapons, the place of Room and the place of the market gives off medieval urban fabric on three sides around the cathedral. The construction of the town hall, side places of Weapons, and of the palate of the bishops of Metz (today, the market hall), side places market and places Room contributes to constitute an architectural unit dominated by the work of the Master-masons of the Middle Ages. On this occasion, and in a preoccupation with a harmonization of this urban unit, Blondel builds on the three sides of the cathedral thus released, an envelope classicisante and in particular, an imposing principal gate (side places market).

A neogothic recasting… German

Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the the Moselle as well as the Alsace having become part integral of the German Empire with statute of “territory of Empire”, it is not interdict to think that political ulterior motives are not either absent from the recasting Néogothique of the circumferences of the cathedral. It is true also that the fashion is then with the medievism as it is seen it, at the same time, with the Château of “restored” Haut-Kœnigsbourg if it is not rebuilt for the German Emperor or with Karlštejn rehabilitated for the Emperor of Austria.

In May 1877, a fireworks organized since the roof of the cathedral in the honor of Guillaume II causes a fire which destroyed the roof completely but saved the interior of the cathedral. The old wood frame and the slate cover were replaced between 1880 and 1882 by a steel construction covered with copper plates. The new roof, higher 4,5 meters appreciably modified the appearance of the cathedral, in particular reducing the effect of the two turns.

The additions of Blondel whose appearance probably harmed the harmony of the unit, are destroyed in 1898, and replaced, under the orders of the Prussian civils servant, by a porch of Néogothique of Tornow. The Sculpture S, on the Tympanum of the Gantry, represent the last Jugement.

Structure

The Cathédrale is built out of stone of Jaumont. Were the vaults raised by the architect Pierre Perrat (? - 1400). The cathedral is built in the Gothic style of the Île-de-France (large surface of canopies), with a Champagne influence (for example, the draperies carved under the large windows and the coursière) and Rhenish (turrets which frames the Chevet).

Two churches in one

Curiously, both Clocher S which dominates the building are not high on the Façade, as it is the case traditionally in the Gothic architecture, but at the level of the fourth Travée. Indeed, the rebuilding of the cathedral starting from 1220 involves the absorption of the church Our-Lady-the-Round which was in front of it. The chapter of this church wanted to keep its autonomy: the first three spans of the nave of the cathedral are that of Our-Lady-the-Round whose axis is perpendicular to that of Saint-Etienne and the attentive visitor will note, according to the Gothic architectural guns, the principal gate of this church in the north of the second span, its Abside and its high altar in the south of the second span whereas the first and third spans are used as Bas-côté S with this curious “church in the church”.

Turns and bell-towers

The large bell-tower of the cathedral, the tower of Mutte, contains a bell of eleven tons, the Mutte , being used for " to assemble " population. This belfry rises with 88 meters height.

The nave

The Nef has a 123 meters length and an impressive height: 41,77  meters what makes of it the higher third of France after the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre of Beauvais and Notre-Dame of Amiens.

Some figures

External architectural elements

The tower of Mutte

Until the end of the 14th century, with Metz, it is the bell of Saint-Eucaire who was used as municipal bell. It was called bancloche or more commonly mutte , since it was intended to assemble the population on various occasions.

In 1412, it was decided to install a bell, already ordered in 1381, on one of the towers of the Cathédrale of Metz, then in construction. The campanological Études natives of the Moselle region of the Chanoine Bour announce eight recastings, required by successive cracks. It locates the first in 1418 but without certainty. Another is attested the November 24th 1428, work having been entrusted to foundry foremen Jean of Galle and Jean of Luxembourg. A third took place in October 1442, guaranteed by a bomber of the city, main Louis de Hamelle. But Mutte still broke, requiring the intervention of Master Anthoine d' Estain, who carried out a casting in September 1443. The following date of 1459; it is known that the building site was installed in the church Saint-Pierre-with-Images, located close to the Cathédrale, under the direction of two German foundry foremen , Arnould of Coblentz and Tillmann of Hachenburg. A recasting is carried out in 1479 in the Saint-Symphorien barn, with the top of Saint-Hilaire-le-Petit, very close to the current law courts. One had called upon the founder Jehan Lambert of Deneuvre, close to Baccarat. In 1574, one still called upon Gaspard Sonnoy of Romain-on-Meuse, close to Bourmont, which installed its building site in a house of the lane of Vazelle, close to the current market hall. Lastly, the last recasting took place in 1605.

Stained glasses

Saint-Etienne of Metz is the Cathédrale of France which has more large surface of stained glasses (6496 square meters), which is worth to him its nickname of “lantern of the Good god”. Its canopies offer a panorama of the art of the Vitrail of.

13th century

In the Transept southern, on the left of large the Organ, small blue stained glasses going back to the 13th century, oldest of the Cathedral, six scenes of the life of Saint Paul appear. They probably come from the Saint-Paul church which belonged to the cathédral group and was demolished at the 18th century.

Several pink S of the 13th century decorates the last Travée S of the Bas-côté S southern and northern of the nave. The pink of the third northern span of the nave comes from the central stained glass of the chorus of Our-Lady-the-Round. Its central medallion appears the Crowning, of the angels to the united hands, bearing crowns or censers occupy the six medallions of the circumference.

Stained glasses of Hermann de Münster (14th century)

Above the large gate of the frontage spreads the large Western canopy (350 square meters). It comprises large a Rosace 11 meters in diameter and was created in 1384 per Hermann de Münster (Münster, Westphalia? - Metz, 1392). The iconographic program illustrates the agreement between the articles of the Symbol of the Apostles and their prefiguration in the Old Testament.

Proof of its notoriety and the recognition of the Canon S, Hermann de Münster was seen granting the right of burial in the cathedral and was buried with the foot of its masterpiece. A epitaph, found in the first span of the northern Side, teaches us that it came from Münster in Westphalia: " Ci IN FRONT OF GIST/MAISTRE HARMAN LI VALRIER/DE MÜNSTERE YEAR WAILTEFALLE/ET FIST GRANT OZ OF CEANS/QUI MORUT the JOR OF the NOSTRE RAMS In March M.CCC.IIIIXX and XII".

The bays of the Transept S cover each one 424 m ². They are the largest Gothic canopies of Europe.

Stained glasses of Théobald de Lixheim (16th century)

In the northern Transept, the splendid canopy of Théobald de Lixheim is gone back to 1504. The pink of the top with the Crowning of the Virgin surmounts the four Evangelists in the quatrefoils. The three levels of Lancette S appear in the higher register eight saints, the intermediate register eight holy and the lower register eight apostles with the articles of the Credo under their feet and the scenes of their Martyr E. To the bottom of the intermediate lancets a plank runs at blue bottom carrying the inscription: " HOC OPUS PER THEOBALDUM OF LYXHEIM VITRIARIUM PERFECTUM EAST ASS DOMINI MCCCCCIV" (“This work was completed by Theobald de Lixheim, glassmaker, in the year of the lord 1504”).

Stained glasses of Valentine Bousch (16th century)

Opposite, the large canopy of the southern arm of the transept is the masterpiece of Valentine Bousch (Strasbourg, end - Metz, 1541), carried out in 1526 - 1527. Its activity is attested starting from 1514. He works initially with the Basilique of Saint-Nicolas-of-Port, seat of a Pèlerinage attended, then with the cathedral of Metz from which he becomes the glassmaker appointed of 1520 until his death in 1541, but he is also employed for other buildings of Lorraine. The style of Valentine Bousch borrows many of his features from Germanic art, in particular with Hans Baldung Grien which he probably knew.

20th century: Chagall, Villon, Bissière, Gaudin

The cathedral of Metz largely profited from the revival of the Vitrail French after the Second world war. Some architects as a chief of the Historic buildings, on which fell the responsibility of replace by new canopies the works destroyed during the war, included/understood the possibilities offered by the painting-stained glass.

It was the case of Robert Renard who, helped by the inspector of the Historic buildings Jacques Dupont, could impose on the cathedral Metz Jacques Villon with the vault of the Blessed Sacrament, located on the southern part of the nave (1956-1957). By its expressive power, Villon managed to raise an ordinary vault thanks to five canopies with topic eucharistic, carried out by Charles Marcq.

In 1959, Marc Chagall agreed to paint the paperboards of two bays of the northern déambulatoire with for subjects of the episodes of the Old Testament. The biblical and oneiric universe of Chagall was admirably been used by know-how of the Simon-Marq workshop for Rheims. Work, of a great freedom, uses all the resources of engraving and the painting annealed glass.

In 1960, Roger Bissière creates the models of two canopies for the tympanums north and south.

The stained glasses of the chorus of Our-Lady-the-Round are an example of the art of the stained glass at the 19th century. The 20th century is also represented by the stained glasses of Villon in the vault of the bishops (1957) and the stained glasses of Chagall, taking as a starting point the Old Testament, in the Transept and the left Déambulatoire (1960 - 1968).

Parts of interest

• the Orgue Renaissance is suspended with middle height of the Cathédrale.

• the episcopal throne is a section of Roman column resculpté with the time mérovingienne.

• the baptismal tank in porphyry is an exceptional part. It is about an old Roman bath-tub coming from the Roman Thermes of the city.
• more the beautiful piece of the treasure is a coat imperial Byzantine in Soie embroidered Pourpre eagle S in wire of Or, brought back by the Croisés of Constantinople.
• the Crypte contains an effigy of the Graoully, the famous dragon which terrorized the city.
• the treasure conceals remarkable parts, such of the sticks of ivory bishops of the S, the bishop's ring of Saint-Arnould, parts of goldsmithery of.
• a series of sculptures representing of small characters is described by Christian Jacq in his book the Initiatory Voyage like revealing of an intimate course of initiation of the builders of cathedral and by extension of the current freemasons.

Old object of the treasure

The statue equestrian, known as of Charlemagne, and preserved at the Museum of Louvre, comes from the treasure of the cathedral. This gilded bronze statue, dating mainly from IXème century, probably represents the grandson of Charlemagne, Charles the Bald person.

Great hours of the cathedral

• February 28th 835: Louis Débonnaire is solemnly restored emperor.
• September 9th 869: crowning and sacring of Charles the Bald person.

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