Amiens Cathedral
Amiens Cathedral has played an important role in the development of gothic architecture. It dates from the 13th century.
Work was started in 1220, under Bishop Evrard de Fouilloy. The architects involved were Robert de Luzarches (until 1228), Thomas de Cormont (until 1258), and his son Renaud de Cormont (until 1288).
Visit May 2006
Amiens was an important town in the Middle Ages, but nowadays is rather inconspicuous. It has a lot of modern buildings (and a second WHS, the Belfry). The 13th century Cathedral is located in a built up area, among shopping streets. It's in good condition. The facade is its most striking point: with many fine sculptural details, especially above the doors.
The inside of the church is like a religious art museum. There's for example a fascinating sculpture of a weeping angel (which became a popular postcard for soldiers in WWI). Also remarkable is the alleged head of John the Baptist. This relic was brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade.
After visiting this site, I wondered how many Gothic cathedrals the List can handle. And which one is the oldest / purest / biggest / most beautiful? In his Comparative Study Of Gothic Churches, carried out for ICOMOS in 1988, the distinguished Swiss expert Professor Peter Kurmann identified no less than 15 churches elegible for a priority list (and that doesn't include the ones inscribed pre-1988, like Amiens and Chartres). So there's still more of those to come.
From his report, we also learn that the cathedrals of Seville, Milan and Cologne are the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world. I would say that Amiens' unique selling point lies in its sculptures.
More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery
Reviews
Sheila Walsh (USA):
A must see in Amiens, France is the niche in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the largest Cathedral in France, where the relic: the head of John the Baptist is displayed. The relic was brought back from Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in 1206 after the sacking of the city by the Fourth Crusade. The face is mummy like and covered by a large polished crystal to preserve it for deterioration. The authenticity has not been studied by scientist but it has been venerated since the 13th century by a steady stream of pilgrims. This relic at the very least has historical and artistic value as well as being a testament to the faith of the people who found religious significance in its presence. The People of the 21st century may be skeptics or repulsed, but the people of by-gone generations were more simple in their faith. They used such objects to enliven their faith. This alone gives this relic significance. The fact that it has endured in Amiens Cathedral for more then 9 centuries, surviving the French Revolution and two World Wars makes it worth a visit. The cathedral is breathtaking; the architecture is inspiring; and when we were there an Australia Anglican coir was singing sacred songs, which gave it an angelic sound to match the beautiful artifacts. |
| Date posted: May 2008 |
pradip (UK):
amien is a light brith cathedral.built by the templars.a must see cathedral |
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Thomas Banfield (USA):
I completely agree with and support the inclusion of the Cathedral of Amiens as a World Heritage site. This would be the cathedral that World Heritage should choose if only one cathedral in France could be selected.
While living and touring in France for ten years, my wife and I have visited most of the French cathedrals. Her interests were primarily the beauty, the history and the art. I was mostly interested in the architecture and methods of construction.
During our visits, we started asking ourselves which ones we liked the best. We were disapointed with Notre Dame de Paris and Chartres, perhaps because the interiors were rather dark and without intersting statuary. Compared to others, they just did not live up to expectations. Beauvais was interesting, had good light, but because of its excessive height without the shouldering support of a nave, it was in danger of collapse, requiring massive and ugly support beams. Others failed to leap out as the most magnificent. Then we visited Notre Dame d'Amiens. It was the clear winner. Why Amiens?
Amiens could be the winner just because of its size. It is the largest of them all in volume with over 200,000 square meters. But it is the winner principaly because of its luminosity, its stunning interior colors, its relics and statuary. It is simply much more agreeable and interesting to visit than the Cathedrales of Paris or Chartres.
Notre Dame de Paris is the most visited because it is in Paris, and Chartres is the second most visited because it is only about one-hour distant from Paris. But Amiens is only an hour and a half away from Paris.
Don't miss the sound and light show. [Christmas and New Year's eves and most evenings during the summer months] This is not the usual sound and light show. While doing laser cleaning of the Cathedral in the 1990s, it was discovered that the western façade was originally painted in multiple colors. A method was perfected to determine the exact make-up of the colors as they were originally applied. Then elaborate lighting techniques were developed to project these colors directly onto the façade with precision, recreating the polychromatic appearance of the 13th century. When projected on the statues around the portals, the result is a stunning display of that brings the figures to life. |
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():
Firstly, let me say, there are not 20 cathedral like that in France, as suggested by our friend Klaus from Austria...in fact it is unique. From that gothic period, only a few french cathedral could rival with Amiens', Namely Chartre, Reims, Rouen (kind of) and Paris (for those who insist..but it is not that extraordinnary)....and Beauvais too...but it just keeps falling down ;-)
In Fact it is so vast that Notre dame of Paris could fit inside Notre Dame of Amiens...hehehe....
Anyway, if people are planning to visit it, I would suggest during the summer period (june to september) or Chritsmas/new year, as Amiens city council organises beautifull illumination every night...
http://www.amiens.fr/decouvrir/cathedrale/polychromie/galerie.asp |
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Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
Like some other reviewers here, I´ve seen my share of big cathedrals, and sometimes they seem to blur in memory. What´s unique about the one in Amiens ? Not that much, although it is very big and definitely beautiful. I just can´t say why it would merit WH status, since there must be at least twenty very similar cathedrals in France alone.
Having said that, when you are anywhere in the area, you should go to Amiens, since the town is very nice and pleasant and it gives you the benefit of seeing three WH sites for the price of one, so to speak: besides the cathedral, the belfry, which is just a few minutes walk from the cathedral, is part of the "Belfries of Belgium and France", and - something I only noticed on a plaque inside the church - the cathedral is also part of the "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France"! |
| Date posted: August 2006 |
pradip (uk):
amien cathedral is wonderful .it doesntget many tourist a maginficent cathedral |
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daTrixta (BROOKLYN, usa):
that ish was dope, i reccomend it to anyone... |
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