Nevers Cathedral () is a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
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 ...
located in the town of
Nevers
Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...
,
Nièvre,
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 ...
, and dedicated to Saints
Cyricus and Julitta. The cathedral is the seat of the
Bishop of Nevers. It is a
national monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...
. The cathedral was designated a basilica in the mid-19th century.
History
Nevers was one of the pilgrimage sites on route to
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...
. The original cathedral was dedicated to Saints
Gervasius and Protasius before being rebuilt in the early ninth century by Bishop Jerome.
The present cathedral is a combination of two buildings, and possesses two
apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
s. The apse and
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
at the west end are the remains of a
Romanesque church, built in the 11th century,
on the Carolingian foundations.
Architecture
After the building suffered a series of fires in the 13th century, the
Gothic nave and eastern apse were added to the still standing Romanesque parts. There is no transept at the eastern end. The lateral portal on the south side belongs to the late 15th century; the massive and elaborately decorated Bohier tower which rises beside it to the early 16th century. The gothic nave and chevet were seriously damaged by bombing in July 1944 but later restored.
The cathedral preserves a polychrome oak triumphal cross dating from about 1200. The cross bears a ''Christus'' carved in walnut. At each end are medallions with symbols representing the four evangelists.
Burials
*
Yolande II, Countess of Nevers
*
Henriette of Cleves
Henriette de La Marck (31 October 1542 – 24 June 1601), also known as Henriette of Cleves, was a French noblewoman and courtier. She was the 4th Duchess of Nevers, ''suo jure'' Countess of Rethel, and Princess of Mantua by her marriage with ...
See also
*
List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe
References
External links
Location of the cathedral
{{Authority control
Roman Catholic cathedrals in France
Buildings and structures in Nièvre
Churches in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Basilica churches in France
Burial sites of the House of Dampierre
Nevers