La Rochelle Cathedral, Catholic cathedral in La Rochelle, France
La Rochelle Cathedral is a Catholic place of worship built in classical style in this Atlantic port city of western France. It follows a Latin cross floor plan with a central nave, side aisles, a projecting transept, and a choir wrapped by an ambulatory corridor.
The Diocese of La Rochelle was established in 1648, and roughly a century later the city commissioned renowned architect Jacques Gabriel to design a new cathedral building. Construction began in 1742, shaping the city's religious and architectural character from that point forward.
The dedication to Saint Louis stems from a 1702 attempt by Bishop Frezeau de Frezilière to transfer the tabernacle and make the parish church of Saint-Barthélemy the cathedral under that name; parishioners protested and the church stayed parochial. The name was later kept for the new cathedral. Inside, the cupola carries paintings by William Bouguereau, born in La Rochelle in 1825.
The building is centrally located in La Rochelle and is open to visitors throughout the day on a daily basis. It is helpful to check current visiting hours before your trip, especially if you want to be there at a particular time or for a specific service.
The cathedral's chevet incorporates the surviving late-medieval bell tower of the Church of Saint Barthélemy, first built in 1152 by monks from the Île d'Aix. In 1627 this tower, on one of the highest points of La Rochelle, was used as a gun tower against the besieging army of Louis XIII. The rest of that church was destroyed by the Huguenots in 1568.
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