Auxerre Cathedral, Gothic cathedral in Auxerre, Burgundy, France
Auxerre Cathedral is a Gothic church built of pale limestone, with a single flat-topped north tower topped by a slim cross; the planned south tower was never built. Its steep brown-tiled roof ends in a rounded east end with tall arched windows and flying buttresses. Below the tower and a round window, lower buildings with dark roofs sit against the base.
Work on this cathedral began in the 13th century and continued through multiple building phases stretching across centuries. The northern tower took until the early 1500s to complete, showing how long the construction process lasted.
The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and the first diocese of Auxerre was founded at the end of the 3rd century by Saint Germanus. The north transept portal honours Auxerre's saints Germanus, Pelerin and Amatre, while the south portal is devoted to Stephen. The 16th-century rood screen was removed in 1764 and replaced by an iron grill made by Paris craftsman Dhumier, with gates by sculptor Sébastien Slodtz to a design by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux.
The crypt, reached from inside the cathedral, preserves the 11th-century Romanesque structure beneath the Gothic choir, so allow time for both levels. The west front is the best place to read the sculpted portals, and the north tower's octagonal stair turret marks the highest point of the building.
The ambulatory is in the 11th-century Romanesque crypt, not the Gothic choir above: a passage with three naves and six traverses that let pilgrims reach the tombs without disturbing clergy at services. The crypt also holds 11th-century frescoes, and the Gothic choir was built directly on top of it from about 1215.
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