I went back to this memorable city, my last round on a fanstastic trip with the boys,and Dad to the wonderful inspiring Poitiers. As said, we have been here before way back, and needed to come back for more and the pictures! Finally made it and it was a blast!! Love it!!! Wonderful architecture and history to boot in my belle France! I like to split the post into exeriors and interiors and tell you more on the St Peter’s Cathedral or Cathédrale Saint Pierre of Poitiers, exteriors !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Poitiers Cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Poitiers. In addition to its title of archiepiscopal church, it has the rank of minor basilica since March 1, 1912. During these two centuries, successive architects have not deviated from the initial plans, which gives the building a great uniformity coupled with a rather attractive architectural balance. this immense stone vessel is however the largest religious building in the city and a landmark visible from afar in the urban landscape. Yes indeed great work beautiful !
It is layout in the Angevin Gothic style and is similar to the hall churches by its division into three vessels of equal height. The facade, confined by two unfinished towers, borrows elements from the stylistic grammar of northern France. The interior preserves 13C stalls and a collection of historiated stained glass windows dating from the 12-13C including a Crucifixion, one of the peaks of French medieval stained glass art. The cathedral is built on the site of the ancient cathedral of Hilaire de Poitiers, rebuilt from 839 on the Emperor’s wishes. This primitive cathedral has disappeared. It must have been located not far from the current one, in the lower part of the city, inside the Gallo-Roman wall, which it bordered on. In 1018, a fire destroyed it as well as part of the city in 1024 but it was restored and enlarged by the care of the Count of Poitou, Duke of Aquitaine William the Great. An important council was held there in 1100. The current cathedral was started in the second half of the 12C, around 1162; and it was financed by the bishop and the cathedral chapter but also perhaps by the Duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and her husband Henri II Plantagenêt, king of England, as by all the faithful. The construction was long because the church was not definitively consecrated until October 17, 1379. From 1793 to 1795, during the revolutionary period, the cathedral served as the Temple of Reason. The episcopal see was reestablished in 1801. In 1912 it received from Pius X the title of minor basilica.
The architecture of Saint-Pierre Cathedral is typical of a hall church with its almost identical vault height in the nave and aisles: 30 meters and 24 meters. There is neither side chapel nor apsidal chapel worthy of the name. The length of the cathedral is 100 meters, its width at the transept, 50 meters. The sculpted portals and the stalls were installed around the middle of the 13C while the façade towers were only completed in the 16C. The St Peter’s Cathedral suffered from looting and mutilation, mainly by Protestants, during the wars of religion in 1562. It is from the middle of the 19C that restoration work was undertaken: the upper parts of the western facade are refit, including the rosette; The canopies are restored. At the end of the 20C, the portals of the facade, blackened by time, found their whiteness. The originality of this cathedral is based on the design of its completely flat bedside rush over a height of 40 meters. Traces of cannonballs drawn by Protestants in the 16C are still visible there, near the glass roof of the Crucifixion. Supervised by two large towers, the facade consists of three large carved portals, made during the 13C and corresponding to the three interior naves. Placed under gables, the portals are surmounted by a large rose, completely redone in the 19C, and radiant berries. The sculpture of portals offers a rich iconography.
An last judgment is developing on the tympanum of the central portal, cut into three registers: we can see the resurrection of the dead where men come out naked from their tomb, the separation of souls with the door of paradise on the left and the mouth of the hell on the right, then a Christ enthroned surrounded by angels with the Virgin and Saint John kneeling. The left gate, dedicated to the Virgin, represents the Dormition and the coronation of the Virgin The right portal relates the episode of the disbelief of Saint Thomas as well as an episode of its legend as an architect in the Indies. The eardrums are surmounted by sculpted areas of saints and other characters. The sculpted program remains unfinished on the lower part of the facade: the niche canopies designed to accommodate statues have remained empty; There has never been a polychromy.
The Porte Saint-Michel door, pierced on the north side of the nave around 1180, is decorated with historiated capitals which form a frieze. On the high cutters, carved only on the left side, are depicted the Magi who visit Herod and ride towards Bethlehem. On the corresponding baskets, pictured the Massacre of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt. On the right, the Annunciation, the Dream of Joseph, the Adoration of the Magi and the Visitation are shown, regardless of the narrative chronology. The facade, set back from the two towers, dates from the mid-13C. It is structured by a rose window and three gable portals. The central portal is illustrated by the scene of the Last Judgment, carved on three registers. Saint Michael, sword in hand, separates the elect from the damned who are precipitated towards the monstrous mouth of Leviathan. Christ the Judge shows his wounds. Beside him stand the Virgin and Saint John kneeling, as well as the angels who display the instruments of the Passion. Characters from the Old and New Testaments populate the arches. The left portal brings together, in two registers, the Dormition of the Virgin and the Coronation of the Virgin. The characters who crowd around Mary, lying on her deathbed at the moment of her Assumption, are remarkable for the elegance of their silhouettes, for the relief and fluidity of the drapes and for the collected dignity of the attitudes. Above, Christ blesses his mother crowned with angels. In the arch, there are saints, and clerics. The tympanum of the right portal is dedicated to Saint Thomas. This thematic choice is rare in Gothic sculpture.
The Parish of the Trinity of Poitiers on the cathedral : https://www.trinitepoitiers.fr/les-communautes/communaute-locale-cathedrale-ste-radegonde-montbernage/
The city of Poitiers and its heritage : https://www.poitiers.fr/des-monuments-exceptionnels
The Poitiers tourist office on the cathedral : https://visitpoitiers.fr/en/activite/cathedrale-saint-pierre/
The Organs of Poitiers on the grand organ of the cathedral: https://www.orguesapoitiers.org/Genese-d-un-instrument-d-exception-p6?lang=en
The Vienne dept 86 tourist office on the cathedral : https://www.tourisme-vienne.com/?articlesyatadata=cathedrale-saint-pierre
There you go folks, a beautiful testament to the wonders of Poitiers, a must to see in my belle France. The trip was a success both on happy moments of nostalgia and great architecture/history around us, wonderful , sublime. The centerpiece was the Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Poitiers,exteriors, a marvel to be visited and come back for more. Again,hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 