Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Saintes

Saintes

In Saintes, the silhouette of the cathedral tells first of an interruption. The porch tower, which dominates the town from a height of nearly 58 metres, was to carry a stone spire and reach 96 metres; it only ever received the dome that still caps it, a temporary solution that became permanent. The Gothic building work, launched in the 15th century under Bishop Guy de Rochechouart to replace a dilapidated Romanesque cathedral, whose vaults had partly collapsed in 1420, killing a man, was still under way when Louis XI visited it in 1472. It still was in 1568, when the Huguenot troops of François de Coligny d'Andelot took over the church: they hammered the portal, broke in two the statue of Charlemagne that stood to its right and had the piers of the nave undermined, so that it collapsed. It was raised again from 1585, but only to two thirds of its original height; the choir, reworked from 1660, received a panelled vault that recalls an upturned ship's hull. Of the Romanesque church of Bishop Pierre de Confolens only the south transept arm remains, beneath its dome on pendentives. The west portal, with four archivolts, has kept its Flamboyant decoration despite the mutilations; at the crossing, the statue of Notre-Dame-des-Miracles recalls a medieval pilgrimage, and the great organ by Jehan Ourry dates from 1626. The last act of the bishopric was tragic: Pierre-Louis de La Rochefoucauld, bishop since 1781, arrested for refusing the constitutional oath, perished at the Carmes prison during the September Massacres.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Saintes ↗

Getting there : Place Saint-Pierre, in the historic centre, on the left bank of the Charente; the station is on the other bank (walking route to be checked), and there are car parks nearby. Open all year round, generally from 9 am to 7 pm, with free entry according to the Routard (times to be checked). The canons' cloister, of which the west and south walks survive, and the treasury: visiting conditions to be checked.

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

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