800 Years of Beauty and History

A year of festivities around the cathedral

Unexpected, Unfinished, Uneven. The cathedral as you've never seen it before!

Saint Peter's Cathedral

800 years of Gothic grandeur

A building of prodigious dimensions, with the highest vaults in Gothic art (48.5 meters), Saint-Pierre Cathedral symbolizes the power of the bishop-count of Beauvais, an important figure in the Kingdom of France.
Following a fire that affected the original cathedral, Notre-Dame de la Basse-Œuvre, Bishop Milon de Nanteuil decided in 1225 to rebuild his church as the largest cathedral in the kingdom.
Work began on the choir, which took 47 years to complete. However, twelve years after completion, part of the vaulting collapsed and construction of the cathedral was put on hold while restorations were carried out.
In 1500, work resumed on the transept, with its splendid flamboyant Gothic façade and 11-meter diameter rose, one of the largest in medieval architecture. Work then continued on the 150-meter-high lantern tower at the transept crossing, surpassing all other cathedrals.
Completed in 1569, the spire collapsed four years later, taking part of the transept and choir with it, leaving the cathedral unfinished.

(extract from the page dedicated to the Ville d'art et d'histoire label)

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