I bring you back to historical Sens in the department of Yonne 89 of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of my belle France, A beautiful town on history and architecture that I had visited by chance! I found these pictures in one of my old cd rom vault and should be in my blog. I came here by car from Paris 7éme with a group of friends,and later with the family, Therefore, here is my take on the Cathédrale Saint Etienne de Sens, part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Cathédrale Saint-Etienne of Sens with its complete title Metropolitan and primatial Saint-Etienne de Sens, is the Catholic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Sens, It is one of the first churches of Gothic architecture of Christianity. Begun around 1130-1135, its nave and its choir are devoted in 1164, and the facade was finished at the end of the 12C. Its southern tower, the bell tower, was completed much later (1532–1534). As for the transept, which dates from the years 1490–1515, it is one of the most beautiful masterpieces in flamboyant Gothic.Saint Louis married in Sens and later takes possession of the relics acquired to be revered in the Sainte Chapelle of Paris (see post). On May 27, 1234, the marriage of Saint Louis and Marguerite de Provence was celebrated in the cathedral ,The important personnages of the kingdom were present and the followers present includes his mother Blanche de Castille, his brothers Robert d’Artois and Alphonse de Poitiers, his cousin Alphonse de Portugal, many nobles including the faithful Barthélemy de Roye and several ladies who ensure the courtship to Marguerite the day after the marriage, on May 28, 1234, the young Marguerite was crowned queen of France.
Inside ,the very wide nave (15.25 meters) The first span is rectangular, the following four are square and with a sexpartite vault. The first span of the southern collateral or Chapelle Sainte-Croix , placed under the tower of the bell tower, is also called the bell chapel , because it is just under the two bumblebees of the cathedral. A private altar leaning against a monumental altarpiece parallelepiped in white limestone, in an exuberant late Gothic style, where a certain Renaissance sensitivity begins to point. Its main face includes three statues, including two Saint Etienne (St Stephens) ,and the Virgin and Child are works whose style illustrates fairly well the sculpture school of Tours around 1500, carrying out the transition between Gothic art and Renaissance . The third statue representing a holy bishop is a late re -implementation replacing a Saint Jean de Chaleveau stolen from the 16C. The second part of the monument is a high ball made up of four fine columns carrying a stone table on which the praying of Jean de Salazar is perched, beheaded during the French revolution. It has a very nice pipe organ in back.
The very bright axial chapel of the 13C evokes Saint Savinian, martyr and first bishop of Sens: the stained glass relating the life of the saint is masked by a sculpture of the 18C representing its ascension. The axial chapel is framed by two other chapels of the 16C and 18C, that of the left sheltering the tomb of the Dauphin of France , and his wife Marie-Josèphe de Saxe , parents of the kings Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X of France, the Queen Clotilde of Sardinia and Madame Élisabeth, sister of Louis XVI and the purest victim of the French revolution. The Chapelle Sainte-Colombe, the Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV, died of tuberculosis on December 20, 1765 at the Château de Fontainebleau (see posts). According to his last wishes, his body was buried in the cathedral of Sens. The body of the Dauphine Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, who died two years later of the same evil, was also transported to Sens.
The Catholic Parish of Yonne on the Cathedral: https://www.yonne.catholique.fr/sens-et-environs/visite-de-nos-eglises/cathedrale-st-etienne-de-sens
The Sens tourist office on the cathedral: https://en.tourisme-sens.com/i-discover/my-essentials/the-cathedral-of-saint-stephen-of-sens/
The city of Sens on the cathedral: https://www.ville-sens.fr/lieux-equipements/la-cathedrale-saint-etienne-de-sens/
There you go folks, this is a wonderful historical city to visit, Sens with all its splendors, not far from Paris. This monument is a must to visit and awesome square to see and indulge in all the best of Burgundy, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Cathédrale Saint Etienne de Sens , part II !!! as I.
And, remember, Happy travels, good health and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 