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General Information

Name in local language: Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais
Beginning of works: 1197
Completion: 1479
Status: in use

Project Type

Structure: Rib vault
Function / usage: Cathedral
Architectural style: Gothic

Location

Location: , , ,
Coordinates: 49° 22' 51.05" N    3° 19' 31.56" E
Show coordinates on a map

Technical Information

Materials

arches stone
columns stone
walls stone
vault masonry

Chronology

1230

End of construction of the nave.
The façade is begun.

1879

Restoration of the cathedral and change of the flying buttresses of the southern arm of the transept by architect Corroyer.

1937

End of restoration by the architect Emile Brunet.

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Soissons Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais) is a Gothic basilica church in Soissons, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin. The construction of the south transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the choir in 1182.

History

The choir, with ist original three-storey elevation and extremely tall clerestory, was completed in 1211. This was earlier than Chartres, on which the design was supposed to have been based. Work then continued into the nave until the late 13th century.

The single western tower dates from the mid-13th century and is an imitation of those of Notre-Dame de Paris, which it equals in height (66 m, or 216 ft). The tower was restored after it and part of the nave were severely damaged in World War I. A matching tower on the other side of the façade was originally planned, but never built.

Description

The graceful southern transept, the oldest portion of the whole edifice, terminates in an apse. Unlike the rest of the building, it is divided inside into four (rather than three) levels.

The choir end of the cathedral has stained glass from the 13th century. A tapestry from the 15th century depicts the life of the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius, the patron saints of the cathedral. Rubens' Adoration of the Shepherds hangs in the northern transept, as does a painting by Philippe de Champaigne.

Maurice Duruflé composed his work for organ "Fugue sur Le carillon des heures de la Cathédrale de Soissons" op. 12 (1962)

Some of the stained glass windows from the Cathedrale de Soissons are on permanent exhibit at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA.

2017 Storm Damage

On January 12, 2017, during a winter storm, strong winds pushed in a significant portion of the west rose window. Large stone pieces of the window's tracery and sections of stained glass fell onto the tracker-action pipe organ located below the rose window, causing severe damage to the instrument.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Soissons Cathedral" and modified on 22 July 2019 under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.

Participants

Renovation
Architecture
Restoration
Architecture

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  • About this
    data sheet
  • Structure-ID
    20002183
  • Published on:
    05/11/2001
  • Last updated on:
    29/07/2014
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