Toul Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul'') 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 let ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is a classic example of late

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...

in the Flamboyant style. The cathedral has one of the biggest

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "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 ...

s in France. The

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 ...

was formerly the seat of the

Diocese of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

. Established in 365, it was annexed in 1824 to the Diocese of Nancy, which in 1777 had been formed from the Diocese of Toul. Since 1824, the diocese has been known as the Diocese of Nancy-Toul,

Architecture

The cathedral has significant elements of the late Gothic Flamboyant style of architecture. Floorplan The towers of the facade measuring 65 meters high, the nave, 100 m long and a vault height of 30 meters and a transept 56 meters wide. Despite construction over more than three centuries, the building's facade has a homogeneity of style. The 13th century saw the construction of the choir, the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

, the last section of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the first row of the gallery of the cloisters. A remarkable element is the transept which embraces larges windows over nearly the entire height of the transept wall. This glass wall effect is later seen in the western facade of the Cathedral of Metz a century later and also in the reconstruction of the transept of the . The four bays of the nave were built in the 14th century, In the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. ...

the magnificent Gothic façade and the first two bays of the nave were built. In the 16th century two

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s were added to the front of the north and south aisles of the nave. The Chapel of All Saints, became the burial of Jean Forget, chaplain and cantor of the chapter of canons. The Chapel of Bishops with its flat coffered roof, supported by simple low arches - has been closed for fifty years, awaiting restoration. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

the sculpted figures of the facade were destroyed. A bombing during the Second World War destroyed the roof and the organ. A major restoration campaign began in the 1980s. Generally the cathedral is a synthesis of the influence of the Verdun Cathedral choir for the design of crypt and flanked by towers and facade of Reims.

The Touloise School

Alain Villes in his work on the Toul Cathedral defines the beginning of a school that creates Touloise Gothic style of the thirteenth century.

Other features

Another touloise effect appears in the broad facade of Flamboyant Gothic style. The decoration of the towers of the cathedral is likely inspired by those of the Church of St. Martin de Pont-à-Mousson. The style of belltowers has definitely influenced the architecture of the contemporaneous St. Gengoult college of Toul and also later in the St. Leon church of Nancy's neo-Gothic style.

As an influence on the architecture of the area

The Cathedral of Toul is the first Gothic construction started in

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

and therefore influenced many buildings of the empire, beginning with Lorraine and even Champagne: *The which the whole plan is very similar to that of Toul, although smaller; *St. Gengoult college of Toul, the site was a contemporary of the cathedral, *The choir of Notre-Dame-la-Ronde (then included in the Metz Cathedral) follows the plan of the apse of Toul, but without towers *It is the same for the church Sainte-Ségolène Metz which generally follows the cathedral floorplan but without the towers. Also for the Basilica of St. Maurice d'Epinal. Both fit the model of the choir and side chapels opening into the transept.

Chapel of the Bishop

The chapel of Bishops is a

chapel whose unique coffered ceiling and flat roof contains no internal support. Since the end of World War II, the chapel awaits restoration and reopening to the public.

Gallery

File:Toul-cathedrale-2005.jpg, Toul Cathedral File:F54 Toul cloitre-cathedrale.JPG, The cloisters Image:Cathédrale de Toul.JPG, Toul Cathedral

References

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Diocese of Nancy, incl. Diocese of Toul
{{Authority control Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Churches in Meurthe-et-Moselle