Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul

Toul

Toul is not a church of Saint Nicholas, and yet it is an obligatory stage in his history: Saint-Nicolas-de-Port belonged to the diocese of Toul, whose cathedral gave it its model. The Gothic works began with the chevet between 1207 and 1221, on the standard plan of Reims adapted to the Lorraine tradition of chevet towers; the nave followed in the 14th century; the works were interrupted between 1400 and 1460 because of the war between the dukes of Burgundy and of Lorraine. They resumed thanks to gifts from the pope and the king of France — fifteen hundred livres from Louis XI —, under the direction of Jacquemin de Lenoncourt, and were completed in 1496-1497 with a flamboyant façade of sixty-five metres, bearing the arms of René II of Lorraine and of Warin de Dommartin, bishop of Verdun and prior of Varangéville. Twenty years later it is these same two coats of arms that are found on the works at Port, whose façade imitates that of Toul and whose choir takes up the Toul plan. A canon of Toul, Nicolas le Sane, indeed bore the title of archdeacon of Port: the two buildings are two moments of one and the same house.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul ↗

Getting there : A 31 motorway, Toul exit; the cathedral is in the town centre, ten minutes' walk from the station. Free entry during the day all year round; the Gothic cloister, the second largest in France, can be visited together with the church. The bishops' chapel is closed awaiting restoration.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound