Rodez Cathedral
The Notre-Dame Cathedral of Rodez in the historic capital of the southern French province of Rouergue is a late Gothic church building from the 13th to 16th centuries in the Aveyron department in the Occitania region . The cathedral is the seat of the Rodez diocese , which belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Toulouse. The church building has been recognized as a monument historique since 1862 .
location
The cathedral and old town of Rodez rise on a hill more than 100 meters above the Aveyron River , which flows around the hill on three sides. The cathedral stands on the western edge of the old town, which was formerly enclosed by a city wall.
Historical background
Rodez and its surroundings were in the 4th / 5th. Century by the hll. Martial and Amantius Christianized : There is no talk of a bishop's church until the 6th century; However, this was enlarged and rebuilt several times over the following centuries. After the bell tower of the previous building collapsed in February 1276, the decision was made in the same year to build a completely new building, which - like the old cathedral - was outside the existing city walls. The construction work dragged on due to the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) and several plague epidemics until 1531. The construction was thus completed shortly before the outbreak of the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598).
Building history at a glance
A master Stephan ( Maître Étienne ) mentioned in the - partially preserved - building books of the early years is considered to be the first architect of the building. It began with the chapels of the ambulatory , two of which end of the 13th century were completed; the other choir chapels followed until around 1320/30. The plague epidemic of 1348 seems to have severely impaired construction progress; In any case, several letters of petition from the respective bishops have been received from the middle of the 14th century, complaining about the slow pace of construction. Jean Deschamps is often named as the architect in charge in the mid-14th century, although his name does not appear in any document. In any case, by the end of the 14th century the choir and north tower were completed. Construction work on the transept also began in the middle of the 14th century, although its portals were not completed until the middle of the 15th century and the two rose windows in the flamboyant style were not completed until the end of the 15th century - a large part of the figural decorations on the two portals were destroyed during the French Revolution . As the last component, the portal-free west side was completed, which shows another flamboyant rose in the upper part. The conclusion is an essay on the middle section, which imitates the shape of a Renaissance church facade and was only installed in the middle of the 16th century.
architecture
Choir
As is usual with church buildings of the Middle Ages, the first building measure was the foundation and erection of an elongated choir , which was designed in the form of a chapel wreath, as it had prevailed in large churches visited by pilgrims . In the ambulatory one was close to the venerated relics, often exhibited in precious containers, in the presence of which visitors' wallets were regularly opened. At the altars of the numerous wreath chapels, masses were read one after the other or at the same time in favor of the deceased and relatives waiting in purgatory for their resurrection and redemption, which of course was also rewarded with generous donations. The tracery windows of the ambulatory chapels of the Gothic cathedrals were mostly decorated with expensive stained glass, which in the High and Late Gothic no longer tell biblical stories, but rather feature an abundance of figures of saints. Due to its early construction period, there is no flamboyant tracery here, but rather simple geometric shapes. The three-part Gothic wall elevation with a high arcade zone, a smaller and unexposed triforium and a high upper aisle was only stable because a large number of buttresses and buttresses supported the vaulting on the outside . The rainwater from the high roof was diverted to the outside via a channel in the buttresses, sometimes lined with lead, later also with tin, where it was spewed out by gargoyles . While the two-lane upper clad windows of the apse take up almost the entire width of the respective segment, the two outer lanes of the four-part window formats in the choir area are walled up - there was enough light in the south of France and, in addition, stones were significantly cheaper than glass at the time. The actual arched field, on the other hand, takes up the entire width of the window, creating the association with a flower.
Elevation of the choir - arcades , triforium and ceilings . The iron choir screens attached later protect the choir from unauthorized entry.
partially walled up chapel in the parlor choir
Transept
The north arm of the transept shows a Gothic archivolt portal with a large number of canopies, which were intended to accommodate figures (apostles, saints, angels, elders, etc.). It is unclear whether these figures were ever completed and fell victim to the iconoclasts of the revolutionary years. In any case, the figures in the tympanum were cut off. The wall field above is completely unadorned. Above it is one of the three - largely identical - rose window roses in the cathedral, the six spokes of which cannot deny their origin from the Romanesque wheel windows . Rich flamboyant shapes unfold within the six fields.
The facade of the southern transept shows a similar structure overall, but there are also striking differences: the tympanum field and the rose of the gable field above are glazed; In addition to the archivolts' canopies, there are also canopies to the left and right of the pediment; In the corners between the side buttresses and the facade, elongated pinnacles begin to grow, ending at the same height as the pinnacle above the central gable, which protrudes into the rose window above, the six fields of which show growing and circling motifs.
portal
Facade south transept
South transept from the inside
West rose from the inside
North tower
The upper parts of the north tower in the corner between the choir and transept were destroyed by fire on February 28, 1510; Only the completely unadorned lower part remained. The builder Antoine Salvanh , who created a small masterpiece here between 1513–1526, was commissioned with the reconstruction : While the lower windows are still in the smooth masonry of the old tower, the window arches are already surrounded by various decorative shapes. Already on this level the transition from a square tower floor plan to an octagonal floor plan - accompanied by small corner turrets - is indicated, which is particularly clearly visible in the upper level. While the middle level is already clearly gaining plasticity by covering all components with tracery, coats of arms and set figures , architectural parts on the upper floor of the tower seem to be completely detached from the building behind, which results in a further increase in the plastic dissolution. The top of the tower is a lantern with a figure of Mary . Most of the arches are designed as keel arches, which is common in the late Gothic period.
Facade tower
Upper floor of the tower
Top of the tower (inside) with spiral staircase to the lantern
Lantern and figure of Mary
West facade
The western facade, completely unadorned and portal-free in the lower part, with its - partly sloping - walls in itself gives the impression of a castle rather than a church. The flat wall sections , the octagonal stair towers and the loopholes-like windows in the middle section also contribute to this impression . Two slightly larger windows are stepped back and clamped between the two towers and the central building. The towers are - unlike the north tower - in no way intended to be representative, but rather can be characterized as guard and defensive towers. The city walls were probably connected to the facade to the north and south, so that the lower part of the cathedral facade can be seen as a fortress structure. This only changes in the upper area of the middle section, which is dominated by a late Gothic rose window with flamboyant tracery divided by six wheel spokes . In front of it there is an openwork balcony parapet, which can not entirely deny its origins in a battlement . Above the rose is a keel arch , the tip of which protrudes into a narrow arcade zone , above which there is another balcony. The final Renaissance essay imitates a church facade. The buttresses on both sides of the central section are covered with tracery and end in octagonal pinnacles .
Central gable with rose window
West facade
Renaissance essay
Longhouse
The approximately 30-meter-high central nave shows the typical wall elevation of a Gothic cathedral with an arcade zone , unexposed triforium and upper aisle . Its window areas - unlike in the choir - take up almost the entire width of the wall. The supports of the nave consist of kapitelllosen round pillars , around which four smaller services group; Above the cranked transom plates , the profiled vault ribs seem to grow out of the masonry - a typical feature of late Gothic architecture. Otherwise, with the exception of the apses , all vaults are designed as more traditionally crafted cross-ribbed vaults . The crossing is not particularly accentuated - the vaults run through it.
Furnishing
Various items of equipment deserve attention - including the group of figures of the Entombment of Christ , a baroque pulpit and several sarcophagi and tombs.
pulpit
Atlant under the pulpit
Late antique sarcophagus
Tomb of Cardinal Joseph Bourret
organ
The organ goes back to an instrument that was built in 1628 by the organ builder Antoine Vernholles. The instrument has 46 stops on four manual works and pedal work . The actions are mechanical.
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- Coupling : II / I, I / P
See also
Other (former) cathedral buildings in southwest France are:
- Albi Cathedral
- ( Béziers Cathedral )
- Carcassonne Cathedral
- Cahors Cathedral
- ( Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur )
- Mende Cathedral
- Montauban Cathedral
- Montpellier Cathedral
- ( Narbonne Cathedral )
- Nimes Cathedral
- Toulouse Cathedral
literature
- Christian Freilang : Imitare ecclesias nobiles. The cathedrals of Narbonne, Toulouse and Rodez and the northern French Rayonnant Gothic in Languedoc . Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft , Worms 1992. ISBN 978-3-88462-085-4
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Rodez in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Information on the organ (French)
Coordinates: 44 ° 21 ′ 3 " N , 2 ° 34 ′ 26" E