, native_name_lang = French , image = File:Poitiers Cathédrale Saint-Pierre AL1.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of St Peter in Poitiers , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , coordinates = , osgraw = , osgridref = , location = , country =

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, denomination =

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 lette ...

, previous denomination = , tradition = , religious institute = , churchmanship = , membership = , attendance = , website = , former name = , bull date = , founded date = , founder = , dedication = , dedicated date = , consecrated date = , cult = , relics = , events = , past bishop = , people = , status = Cathedral , functional status = Active , heritage designation = , designated date = , architect = , architectural type = , style = , years built = , groundbreaking = , completed date = , construction cost = , closed date = , demolished date = , capacity = , length = , width = , width nave = , height = , diameter = , other dimensions = , floor count = , floor area = , dome quantity = , dome height outer = , dome height inner = , dome dia outer = , dome dia inner = , spire quantity = , spire height = , materials = , bells = , bells hung = , bell weight = , parish = , benefice = , deanery = , archdeaconry = , episcopalarea = , archdiocese = , metropolis = , diocese =

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

, province = , presbytery = , synod = , circuit = , district = , division = , subdivision = , archbishop = Pascal Wintzer , bishop = , auxiliary bishop = , cardinal protector = , abbot = , prior = , subprior = , exarch = , provost-rector = , provost = , viceprovost = , rector = , vicar = , dean = , subdean = , archpriest = , precentor = , succentor = , chancellor = , canonchancellor = , canon = , canonpastor = , canonmissioner = , canontreasurer = , prebendary = , priestincharge = , priest = , asstpriest = , honpriest = , curate = , asstcurate = , nonstipendiaryminister = , minister = , assistant = , seniorpastor = , pastor = , chaplain = , archdeacon = , deacon = , deaconess = , reader = , student intern = , organistdom = , director = , organist = , organscholar = , chapterclerk = , laychapter = , warden = , verger = , businessmgr = , liturgycoord = , reledu = , rcia = , youthmin = , flowerguild = , musicgroup = , parishadmin = , serversguild = , sacristan = , logo = , logosize = , logolink = , logoalt = , embedded = Poitiers - Cathédrale Saint-Pierre - Orgues2

Poitiers - Cathédrale Saint-Pierre - Orgues2

Poitiers Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Poitiers) is a

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 ...

. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Poitiers.

History

Its construction began in 1162 by

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

and

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

on the ruins of a Roman

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, and work was well advanced by the end of the 12th century. It is the largest medieval monument in the city of Poitiers.

Architecture

It is the best known example of a

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

of the

Angevin Gothic The Plantagenet style or Angevine Gothic is an architectural style of western France, mainly of the second half of 12th and the 13th century. By Eugène Viollet-le-Duc it was called "Style ogivale Plantagenêt", something like "Plantagenet Ribs Sty ...

style. It consists of a

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 ...

flanked on either side by two aisles. The nave and aisles are almost equal in height and width, all three of which decrease towards the west, thus enhancing the perspective. Its length is , and the keystone of the central vaulted roof is above the pavement. The exterior generally has a heavy appearance. The facade, which is broad relative to its height, has unfinished side-towers and tall, begun in the 13th century. Most of the windows of the choir and 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 withi ...

s preserve their stained glass of the 12th and 13th centuries; the end window, the Crucifixion Window contains the figures of Henry II and Eleanor. It was completed in about 1165, making it one of the earliest stained-glass cathedral windows in France. Mignon, Olivier, ''Architecture du Patrimoine Français- Abbayes, Églises, Cathédrales et Châtaeaux'', (2017), Éditions Ouest-France, (in French), , pg. 111, The choir stalls, carved between 1235 and 1257, are also among the oldest in France.

Organ

On the night of 25 December 1681,← the organ was destroyed by fire. It was not until 1770-78 that a campaign was launched to build a replacement.

François-Henri Clicquot François-Henri (also Henry) Clicquot (1732 – 24 May 1790) was a French organ builder and was the grandson of Robert Clicquot and son of Louis-Alexandre Cliquot, who were also noted organ builders. Clicquot was born in Paris, where he later ...

, at that time the leading organ-builder in France, was appointed to undertake the work but died on Pentecost 1790 before completing the work. His son,

Claude-François Clicquot Claude-François Clicquot (1762 – 29 March 1801) was a French organ-builder, son of the celebrated François-Henri Clicquot. During and after the French Revolution he saved many organs in Paris and in the provinces. Biography Claude-Fra ...

, finished the job, handing it over for presentation in March 1791. The instrument is a beautiful example of eighteenth-century organ design, and is still largely intact.

References

External links

Cathedral exterior
and external view of one of the numerous churches in Poitiers
Cathedral interior
* *

History

Architecture

Organ

References

External links

See also