Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes

Rennes

On 25 December 1483, the Gothic cathedral of Rennes, consecrated in 1359, was the setting for an oath that would change England. Henry Tudor, then in exile in Brittany, promised here to marry Elizabeth of York: the aim was to rally under his banner the exiles of both parties, Lancaster and York, against Richard III. In 1485, he became king as Henry VII; he married Elizabeth in January 1486. Of the church of the oath, nothing remains. Its tower and west façade collapsed in 1490, and the rebuilding of the façade, begun in 1541, stretched over more than a century and a half: the first level was built from 1541 to 1543, Tugal Caris raised the next two from 1640 to 1654, Pierre Corbineau the fourth until 1678, and François Huguet crowned the two granite towers, at 48 metres, in 1704. Louis XIV's motto, “Nec pluribus impar”, appears at the top. In 1754, it was the choir that collapsed. Nave and choir were demolished from 1756 to 1768, and the architect Mathurin Crucy designed a new church, in a columned neoclassicism; the building work, begun in 1787, was halted by the Revolution. For more than forty years, the abbey church of Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine served as the cathedral. Work resumed in 1816 and was completed under the direction of Louis Richelot in 1844-1845. The interior, covered with gilding and paintings, houses a high altar made of marbles given by Pope Pius IX and a 16th-century Antwerp altarpiece peopled with some eighty figures.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes ↗

Getting there : Rue de la Monnaie, in the old town of Rennes. Opening times and free entry to be checked; the cathedral remains a place of worship.

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

Ambient sound