Tours Cathedral

The late Gothic west facade with the two towers

Cathedral floor plan. The individual construction phases are shown in color: blue (11th century), black (12th century), green (13th century), red (14th century) and yellow (15th century).

Vault

The Cathedral of Tours is a Gothic church, the holy Gatianus of Tours is dedicated, the first bishop of Tours . It is the seat of the Archbishop of Tours .

Building history

A first church was built around 338. It burned down in the 6th century at the latest and was replaced by a new, magnificent building, which Gregory of Tours consecrated in 590.

A third, Romanesque episcopal church was built in the early 12th century, but it burned out in 1166. Although it was restored, the quality of the building and the stones used was so poor that it was largely ready for demolition at the beginning of the 13th century.

The construction of a new cathedral began around 1220/1230 and was built as a basilica over the previous buildings. Around 1280 the choir and apse were completed under the direction of Étienne de Mortagne , but as early as 1267 the relics of St. Mauritius and his companions were solemnly transferred to the church. In 1465 the building was vaulted . The transept and the first two bays of the nave were built by Simon du Mans , the remaining bays by Jean de Dammartin . The north and south towers were completed in 1509 and 1507, respectively, and are 70 meters high. Both end with an octagon surrounded by four corner pinnacles with Renaissance helmets and lanterns. They were designed by the architect Pierre Valence.

Building description

The building with its almost 70 meter high towers from the 16th century was built on a slight hill to protect the cathedral from floods of the Loire . Due to the long construction period (completion of the choir in 1260, the nave around 1440), the cathedral represents all stages of development from Gothic through to the late Gothic facade, designed between 1426 and 1547 by the builders Jean de Dammartin, Jean Papin and Jean Durand . With its rich ornamentation, openwork arched fields , leaf-decorated eyelashes and archivolts with arched hangings as well as numerous pinnacles and niches, this is considered to be one of the most magnificent and richest examples of the Flamboyant style .

The spacious interior is particularly effective in the long choir, the upper wall of which appears completely dissolved by a triforium and the high colored windows in the apse, flooded with light, light and elegant. At the same time, this six-bay, five-nave and three-storey part of the cathedral with a clear height of 29 meters has monumental dimensions. The eight-bay long house is a little narrower and looks more compact.

To the north of the cathedral is the three-aisled cloister "La Psalette" (choir school).

Dimensions

Length of the main nave: 90 meters
Width of the main nave: 32 meters
Height of the main nave: 29 meters
Length of the transept: 48 meters
Width of the transept: 10 meters
Height of the transept: 29 meters
Height of the north tower: 68 meters
Height of the south tower: 69 meters

Equipment and windows

Choir

In 1562 the iconoclasting Huguenots devastated Saint-Gatien and also destroyed the portal statues , which have not been replaced to this day. 36 sculptures in the cathedral today were made by the sculptor Toussaint around 1850.

The stained glass windows represent the most remarkable part of the cathedral. The 15 splendid windows in the apse and the triforium below were inserted between 1265 and 1270. Its stained glass tells of the legends of the saints, illustrates the creation of the world and the Passion of Christ and depicts the Bishops of Tours. The rose window on the facade dates from the 15th century, that of the transept from the 14th century.

In the first southern choir chapel there is the marble high tomb (early 16th century) for Charles-Orland and Charles, sons of Charles VIII.

organ

South rosette and part of the organ prospectus

The organ goes back in part to an instrument from 1521, from which the organ case still comes today . The instrument has been restored and expanded several times over the years, around 1762 with a Rückpositiv and an Echowerk. In 1928–1929 the instrument was completely reorganized and equipped with electropneumatic action. The last revision was made in 1992–1996 by the Strasbourg organ building company Alfred Kern & fils . Today the instrument has 56 stops on three manuals and a pedal .

I Positif de Dos C – g ³
1.	Montre	8th'
2.	Bourdon	8th'
3.	Flute	8th'
4th	Prestant	4 ′
5.	Flute	4 ′
6th	Nazard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
7th	Duplicate	2 ′
8th.	Fourth	2 ′
9.	Tierce	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
10.	Larigot	1 ¹ ⁄ ₃  ′
11.	Fittings III
12.	Cymbals III
13.	Cornet V
14th	Cromorne	8th'
15th	Voix humaine	8th'
16.	Hautbois	8th'
17th	Trumpets	8th'
18th	Clairon	4 ′
	Tremblant

II Grand Orgue C-g ³
19th	Montre	16 ′
20th	Bourdon	16 ′
21st	Montre	8th'
22nd	Bourdon	8th'
23.	Viole de gambe	8th'
24.	Prestant	4 ′
25th	Flute	4 ′
26th	Big Tierce	3 ¹ ⁄ ₅  ′
27.	Nazard	2 ² ⁄ ₃  ′
28.	Duplicate	2 ′
29	Fourth	2 ′
30th	Tierce	1 ³ ⁄ ₅  ′
31.	Flageolet	1'
32.	Grande Fourniture II
33.	Fittings IV
34.	Cymbals V
35.	Grand Cornet V
36.	Bombard	16 ′
37.	Trumpets	8th'
38.	Clairon	4 ′

III Récit expressif C – g ³
39.	Viol	8th'
40.	Flûte harmonique	8th'
41.	Voix céleste	8th'
42.	Bourdon	8th'
43.	Flûte octaviante	4 ′
44.	Octavine	2 ′
45.	Cornet V
46.	Basson-Hautbois	8th'
47.	Voix humaine	8th'
48.	Trumpets	8th'
49.	Clairon	4 ′
	Tremolo

Pedale C – f ¹
50.	Soubasse	32 ′
51.	Flute	16 ′
52.	Flute	8th'
53.	Flute	4 ′
54.	Bombard	16 ′
55.	Trumpets	8th'
56.	Clairon	4 ′

Bells

Four historical bells hang in the south tower.

No.	Surname	Caster	Casting year	Weight (kg)	Nominal (16th note)	Remarks
1	Christ	N. Mutel & N. Baret	1749	2850	c ¹	Originally in the Abbey of Saint-Paul de Cormery
2	Maurice	Bollée père et fils	1864	1750	d ¹ -1
3	Gatien	Bollée père et fils	1864	1310	e ¹ +5
4th	Martin	unknown	14th century		a ¹
I.	Clock bell		1769		f sharp ¹

literature

Marianne Mehling (ed.): Valley of the Loire. Knaur's cultural guide in color. Pp. 221-224, Munich 1983.

Individual evidence

↑ Comprehensive information on the history of the organ

Web links

Commons : Saint Gatien Cathedral in Tours - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Saint-Gatien Cathedral (Structurae)

47.3956 0.694574Coordinates: 47 ° 23 '44.16 " N , 0 ° 41' 40.47" E

[1] Comprehensive information on the history of the organ