Amiens Cathedral: Encyclopedia - Amiens Cathedral

Amiens Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or just Amiens Cathedral, is the tallest complete cathedral in France with the greatest interior volume, estimated at 200,000 m³. The vaults of the nave are 42.30 m tall, the tallest nave vaults in France. This monumental cathedral is located in Amiens, the chief city of Picardy, in the Somme River valley a little over 100 kilometers north of Paris.

The paucity of documentation concerning the construction of the Gothic cathedral may be in part the result of fires that destroyed the chapter archives in 1218 and again in 1258, a fire that damaged the cathedral itself. Bishop Evrard de Fouilly initiated work on the cathedral in 1220. Robert de Luzarches was the architect until 1228, and was followed by Thomas de Cormont until 1258. His son, Renaud de Cormont, acted as the architect until 1288. The chronicle of Corbie gives a completion date for the cathedral of 1266. Finishing works continued, however. Its floors are covered with quite a number of designs, such as with swastika. The labyrinth was installed in 1288. Numerous excellent sculptures can be viewed at this cathedral. The cathedral contains the alleged head of John the Baptist. This relic was brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade.

Since 1981 Notre-Dame d'Amiens has been listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. A Son et lumière presentation illuminates its façade on summer evenings and at New Year's, approximating the original painted colors of its sculptures. Amiens is famous for having altered Swastika symbols on its floors.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Amiens Cathedral", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki