Langres Cathedral

At the time that the cathedral was built, the diocese of Langres was considerably larger; it reached further south and included Dijon, which did not become a separate diocese until 1731.[1] Around 1140, bishop Geoffroy de La Roche-Vanneau (1091–1162), a close friend of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, took the decision to rebuild the cathedral. At that time the cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Sens, the first fully Gothic cathedral, was already under construction.

The choir and the ambulatory were constructed first, followed by the nave and the transept. The architecture was a blend of Romanesque and the new Gothic. Its form was influenced by the third church of Cluny Abbey, with its large central vessel in the particular Romanesque style of Burgundy, and its three level elevation; large arcades of massive pillars on the ground floor, a narrow triforium or passage above, with Corinthian pilasters; and high windows. The vaults of the ambulatory were supported by Corinthian columns.[1] The choir's flying buttresses were hidden, but those of the nave can be seen from the outside. It is documented by a bull of Pope Alexander III, who had taken refuge at Sens from 1163 to 1165, that in 1170 building was well underway. It only lacked the first span of the nave and the facade, or west front.

In 1190, following the sale of church lands to the west, a last campaign was undertaken with a view to finishing the building.and the cathedral was dedicated in 1196. At that date it appears that only the vaults of the nave were still unfinished. In 1209, the holy relic of the head of Saint Mammes was brought to the cathedral, giving the cathedral enhanced status as a pilgrimage destination.

In the thirteenth century the cloister was built (of which two arcades remain today) as well as the chapel of the Virgin in the apse (promoted by the canon of Vergy). In 1314, a fire destroyed the nave's roof.

In the sixteenth century, from 1547 to 1551, the canon d'Amoncourt, vicar-general of Claude de Longwy who was then bishop of Langres, had the chapel of the Holy Cross built in the new Renaissance style on the left-hand side of the nave. In 1555, the Cardinal de Givry added another particular Renaissance feature; a very ornate jube or choir screen, surrounding the area of the church reserved for the clergy. The choir screen survived long after similar screens were demolished in other French cathedrals, due to a change in church doctrine. It survived until the French Revolution, when it was destroyed.[2]

By the 18th century the Romanesque towers on the west front were in danger of collapse. The bell tower over transept was in such poor state that it had to be removed in 1782. In 1746, the west front also threatened to collapse, and the decision was taken to demolish it. It was rebuilt from 1761 to 1786 in the classical style by the architect Claude-Louis D'Aviler.The works were managed by the architect Jean-Antoine Caristie. Following the French Revolution, the cathedral was closed and was transformed for a time into a Temple of Reason, and then a storehouse for grain. It did not reopen for worship until 1800.[3]

Beginning in 1852, the upper parts of the cathedral were renovated by the architect Alphonse Durand. He systematically rebuilt the nave (1853–54), the sacristy (entirely rebuilt between 1857 and 1862), The roof was replaced in 1855, and the choir and apse were restored beginning in 1856. The transept was rebuilt beginning in 1860 and the west front beginning in 1860.

Beginning in 1999, the colourful tile roof of the nave and transept was replaced by new tiles organised in the same geometric design as the tiles installed by Durand in the 19th century.