Nantes Cathedral
The cathedral of Nantes ( French Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul ) is dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul . It is the cathedral church of the Bishop of Nantes .
history
The first real cathedral building in Nantes was built from the year 527, it was completed in 549. This building was so badly damaged between 843 and 919 during several incursions by the Normans , who drove up the Loire from the Atlantic Ocean , that 940, when Brittany from was liberated by the Normans, only ruins remained. Under Bishop Benedikt von Cornouailles (1079–1112) a new building was carried out, which had the typical characteristics of the Romanesque style of western France (domes in the central nave, barrel vaults in the side aisles).
Construction of the Gothic cathedral began on April 14, 1434. It was made possible not least by the fact that the Breton Duke John V was able to remain relatively neutral during the Hundred Years' War . It was also he who laid the foundation stone. The name of the first master builder is also known: Wilhelm von Dommartin-sur-Yèvre . In contrast to usual, the construction of the cathedral in Nantes began with the west facade. The two towers with a square floor plan also open to the flanks (north and south) with large double portals. Towards the end of the century the facade should have been largely completed, however, as in almost all Gothic cathedrals in France, the towers were not completed (bells 1506). At the same time work was being carried out on the nave chapels and the aisles. The Gothic nave was not consecrated until 1577, but still without a vault. (For comparison: Michelangelo , the creator of e.g. the dome of the Roman St. Peter's Church , which already exceeded the High Renaissance , died in 1564. )
In 1627 construction work was resumed after a long break. The vaulting of the nave center nave lasted from 1627 to 1629, the south transept was completed from 1631 to 1637 and the construction of the south aisles of the choir took place from 1650 to 1668. In this condition and with the still existing Romanesque choir (this was connected to the nave by a kind of triumphal arch in baroque shapes from 1615 to 1618), the architecture remained largely unchanged until the 19th century.
The fate of the cathedral during the French Revolution was typical of the time. Large parts of the furnishings and glass windows were destroyed, the building was used as a horse stable and warehouse. The building was put back into use as a church after the Napoleonic Concordat of August 1800, which saved it from deterioration as it was maintained by the state. Efforts have been made since 1834 to replace the still Romanesque northern transept with an imitation of the southern one. The related considerations finally led to a complete completion in the Gothic style. In this move, the north transept was redesigned from 1840 to 1849, a new crypt was built around the Romanesque one from 1845 to 1865 and the choir with access and chapel wreath (five chapels) was tackled. By 1891 the choir and crossing were finally completed. On Christmas Day 1891, Bishop Jules-François Le Coq consecrated the completed cathedral.
On June 15, 1944, Allied bombs destroyed parts of the choir and the sacristy . The restoration dragged on for the next few decades due to unresolved financing issues and was not brought to a real conclusion. On January 28, 1972, a fire caused by repair work broke out and destroyed the wooden roof structure. However, the vault withstood a collapse. In the course of the restoration, which lasted until 1985 and can be considered the most complete restoration of a French cathedral, the last war damage also disappeared.
On July 18, 2020, around 8 a.m., a fire broke out inside the cathedral. Local prosecutor Pierre Sennès said on French television that fire had broken out in three places in the church: in the area of the main organ, on the right side and on the left side of the nave. The main organ from the 18th century was completely destroyed in the fire and parts fell into the interior of the nave. In addition, a large stained glass window and other windows were destroyed. The painting Saint-Clair guérissant les aveugles (Saint Clarus heals the blind), a masterpiece by Hippolyte Flandrin from 1836, was also burned. A week after the fire, Emmanuel A., a refugee from Rwanda who had volunteered in the diocese for four years , confessed to starting the fire .
architecture
description
The cathedral of Nantes is not one of the most famous of its type in France. This is due on the one hand to the fact that it lies well outside the classical cathedral area ( Île de France , Picardie , Champagne ), and on the other hand to the fact that it was created in a time that is also neglected in art history , the French late Gothic , the Flamboyant style . Nevertheless, the building is noteworthy in several respects and is one of the best works of this time. The cathedral of Nantes has the highest vault in France after the cathedrals of Amiens , Beauvais and Metz
Formally, the architecture of the cathedral takes up macro-forms of the classical Gothic of the Île de France, but executes them in forms of the late Gothic. The strongly profiled services merge seamlessly, ie without capital, into the very deep vault ribs; at the multiple curved plinths they flow into a complex system of individual and hierarchically structured bases. Numerous keystones are intricately dissolved in tracery and sculpture of the flamboyant. The parts created in the post-Gothic (16th and 17th centuries) are subordinate to the Gothic macrostructure without adapting to it exactly (this can be seen in particular on the south facade windows). Overall, the enormous interior of the cathedral is a very good ensemble of late and post-Gothic architecture in France, especially since the ambitious completion in the 19th century and the fundamental restoration in the seventies and eighties, which makes the room appear large, harmoniously proportioned and light . The cathedral of Nantes with its architectural history also relativizes (e.g. next to that of Orléans ) the common distinction between correct Gothic and false neo-Gothic .
The outer pulpit, which was attached to a crowd gathered in the forecourt, is unusual on the facade.
Dimensions
- External length: 110 m
- Interior length: 102 m
- Clear width of the central nave: 15 m
- Clear width of the nave in total: 39 m
- Interior height of the central nave: 38 m
- Tower height: 63 m
- Width of the west facade: 43 m
Furnishing
- High altar (approx. 1733) with marble angels by Sébastien Leysner from 1779
- Renaissance tomb of Duke Franz II and his wife Margarethe von Foix in the south aisle (in the Carmelite Church until the French Revolution). Black and white marble, high quality sculptures of the four virtues, including Prudentia Janus heads .
- Lamoricières tomb from 1878 in the north aisle
Tomb of Franz II and his wife Margarethe von Foix
Janus-headed Prudentia from the tomb of Francis II and his wife
Lamoricière's tomb
Organs
Bells
Eight chimes hang in the south tower of the cathedral.
| No. |
Surname |
Casting year |
Caster |
Diameter (mm) |
Mass (kg) |
Nominal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeanne Antoinette | 1842/43 | Bollée Frères ( Le Mans ) | 2040 | 5650 | f sharp 0 |
| 2 | Françoise Thérèse | 1841 | Guillaume-Besson ( Angers ) | 1830 | 4010 | g sharp 0 |
| 3 | Josephine | 1842/43 | Bollée Frères (Le Mans) | 1610 | 2945 | ais 0 |
| 4th | Julie Félicité | 1841 | Guillaume-Besson (Angers) | 1570 | 2431 | h 0 |
| 5 | Marie Françoise | 1841 | Guillaume-Besson (Angers) | 1390 | 1675 | cis 1 |
| 6th | Perrine Marie | 1841 | Guillaume-Besson (Angers) | 1240 | 1200 | dis 1 |
| 7th | Emilie | 1841 | Guillaume-Besson (Angers) | 1110 | 870 | f 1 |
| 8th | Louise | 1841 | Guillaume-Besson (Angers) | 1030 | 690 | f sharp 1 |
In addition, a carillon with twelve bells hangs in the south tower, which was cast in 1843 by the bell caster Bollée Frères from Le Mans.
Bishops
The first bishop of Nantes was Saint Clarus around 280 ; the office is currently vacant . The last bishop was Jean-Paul James from 2009 to 2019 .
literature
- Yves Bottineau : The Nantes Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Lyon 1991
- Jean-Michel Leniaud and a .: Nantes. La Cathédrale. Loire-Atlantique. Nantes 1991
Web links
- Official website of Nantes Cathedral (French)
- Nantes Cathedral . In: Nantes-Tourisme.com (English, French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fire in the cathedral of Nantes - suspected arson. In: Sueddeutsche.de. July 18, 2020, accessed July 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Martin Bohne: Fire in Nantes Cathedral - "Important religious heritage destroyed". In: Tagesschau.de. July 18, 2020, accessed July 19, 2020 .
- ↑ Investigations into church fire in Nantes. In: Merkur.de. July 19, 2020, accessed July 19, 2020 .
- ↑ Cathédrale de Nantes: sur les traces du tableau de Flandrin détruit dans l'incendie. ; in English: "Nantes Cathedral: on the trail of Flandrin's painting, which was destroyed in the fire." In: Le Figaro. July 22, 2020, accessed on July 26, 2020 (French).
- ↑ Community servant confesses to arson. In: Tagesschau.de. July 26, 2020, accessed July 27, 2020 .
- ↑ Michaela Wiegel: The suspect "bitterly" regrets the act. In: FAZ.net. July 26, 2020, accessed July 27, 2020 .
- ^ French police arrest cathedral volunteer who confesses to Nantes fire. In: catholicphilly.com. July 18, 2020, accessed on July 28, 2020 .
Coordinates: 47 ° 13 ′ 5 ″ N , 1 ° 33 ′ 3 ″ W.