Fribourg Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas de Fribourg) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

Fribourg , Location of , Location of () () or , ; or , ; gsw, label=Swiss German, Frybùrg ; it, Friburgo or ; rm, Friburg. is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), ...

, Switzerland, built in the

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style, on a rocky outcrop 50 metres above the river

Sarine Sarine may refer to: *Sarine District, one of Switzerland's seven districts *Saane/Sarine The Sarine (; frp, Sarena ) or Saane () is a major river of Switzerland.6th longest, 7th largest basin, see List of rivers of Switzerland It is long and ...

(Saane), dominating the medieval town below. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg.

History

The main body of the church was started in 1283 and completed by 1430. The tower was completed in 1490. It is 76 metres tall and houses 11 bells. It also features a rose window above the main portal with stained glass by Harrison Weltlich (1988). The stained-glass windows, designed by the Polish painter Jozef Mehoffer and made by local craftsmen Kirsch & Fleckner between 1896 and 1936, constitute one of the most important collections of religious

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Moder ...

stained-glass windows. Originally a parish church, in 1945 it became the cathedral of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg.

Gallery

File:2013-04-04_Fribourg_0582.JPG, Interior Cathedrale vitraux mehoffer anne entier.jpg, windows of 4 saints Cathedrale vitraux mehoffer apotres entier.jpg, windows of 4 Apostles Cathedrale vitraux mehoffer eucharistie entier.jpg, windows of the eucharist Cathedrale vitraux mehoffer victoire entier.jpg, windows of Our Lady of Victory Cathedral Fribourg vitrail Maertyrer 02.jpg, window of martyrs by J. Mehoffer

External links

STnicolas.ch: Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Fribourg website
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Switzerland Buildings and structures in the canton of Fribourg Roman Catholic churches completed in 1430 Tourist attractions in the canton of Fribourg Gothic architecture in Switzerland 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Switzerland {{Switzerland-RC-church-stub