The silhouette of Saint-Pierre de Beauvais dominates the episcopal quarter, battered by centuries that have spared neither the canons' houses, the maze of medieval alleyways, nor the protective walls inherited from the first centuries of our era, The silhouette of Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, a giant protector that casts its shadow over the former episcopal palace (now the MUDO-musée de l'Oise), the ancient Carolingian cathedral of Notre-Dame de la Basse-Œuvre and the contemporary Quadrilatère, is a familiar sight in Beauvais's urban landscape. Familiar in that it's part of the everyday life of Beauvaisians, many of whom no longer see it, and many more of whom are completely unaware of its history. And yet ...
In the nearly 8 centuries since its construction began, there have been many twists and turns, adventures, crazy bets and resounding failures, all of which have shaped the current appearance of the tallest cathedral of all time...
Who, among those who take refuge in the shelter of its tutelary shadow, knows the ambitious impetus of its construction, which sought to raise its vaults to celestial heights?
Who can remember that fateful evening in November 1284, when part of the vaults that were the bishop's pride and joy in the 13th century collapsed?
Who remembers that it took two centuries for work to resume on the transept?
Who remembers the prodigious 150-metre-high spire on the transept crossing that was blown down by a gust of wind 4 years after its erection?
Who, finally, understands that these vicissitudes having overcome the ambitions of the bishops of Beauvais (and their canons), the modest ancient church of Basse-Œuvre survived within the perimeter on which the inevitably prodigious construction of the nave was to rise?
It's this history, great and small, edifying and petty, that the city of Beauvais and the Beauvaisis conurbation, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the Regional Department of Cultural Affairs, the Hauts-de-France region and the Oise département, intend to celebrate on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the start of construction of the Gothic cathedral of Saint-Pierre.