Chalon Cathedral, Gothic cathedral in Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
Chalon Cathedral is a Gothic church in Chalon-sur-Saône, marked by two square towers that define its profile from the outside. Inside, ribbed vaults run along the nave and chapels open on both sides, each belonging to a different phase of construction.
The building began in the 11th century with Romanesque foundations, then changed shape through several rounds of Gothic work during the Middle Ages. Each phase left its mark on the structure, gradually giving it the form visitors see today.
The church was first placed under Saint Stephen, then around 542 under Saint Vincent, whose name it still bears. The west facade's two 42-metre towers carry sixteen statues of patron saints of Chalon's districts and communes, including Saint George, Saint Lawrence, Saint Vincent, Saint John, Saint Martha and Saint Paul, carved by Étienne de Saptes.
The west front faces the market on place Saint-Vincent, so the square is the natural starting point. The cloister, listed as a monument in 1928, lies to the side of the nave. A garden runs around the chevet and along the Romanesque north apse chapel, giving a close view of the eastern end.
The west facade is a 19th-century Neo-Gothic addition, built from 1822 to 1844 by the Lyon architect Antoine Chenavard. It replaced a demolished predecessor that had a Romanesque bell tower. The two 42-metre square towers, proposed in 1827 because the old towers were beginning to collapse, are crowned with sixteen statues of patron saints of Chalon's districts and communes, carved by Étienne de Saptes.
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