Chambéry Cathedral (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Cathédrale Saint-François-de-Sales de Chambéry'') is a

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church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

is dedicated to Saint François de Sales, and is the seat of the Archbishopric of Chambéry, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and Tarentaise. The Chambéry Cathedral was established in 1779 as the Bishopric of Chambéry. After gaining the territories of the Bishopric of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and the Archbishopric of Tarentaise in 1801, it was elevated to an archbishopric in 1817. In 1825 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tarentaise were re-created as independent dioceses; in 1966 they were once again added to the Archdiocese of Chambéry, which in 2002 adopted its present name of Archdiocese of Chambéry, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and Tarentaise. The building dates from the 15th century, when it was constructed as a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

chapel. The site is very swampy and the building is supported by 30,000 poles. It became the cathedral on the creation of the see in 1779. During the French Revolution it was extensively defaced, and the interior was entirely restored in the early 19th century. It contains the largest ensemble of ''

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'' painting in Europe (almost 6,000 m²) by the artists Sevesi and Vicario, as well as a

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...

almost 35 metres long laid down in 1860–1870 and relaid in 1989. The neighbouring local history museum, formerly the Franciscan convent, linked to the cathedral by the

cloisters A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southe ...

, houses a 12th-century ivory

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inspiration.

References

Sources

Catholic Hierarchy: Archdiocese of Chambéry

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Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Churches in Savoie Basilica churches in France Chambéry Buildings and structures in Chambéry {{France-RC-cathedral-stub