Poitiers Cathedral

About

Saint-Pierre de Poitiers Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Poitiers, in the Vienne department and in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Poitiers. In addition to her title of archepiscopal church, she has been a minor basilica since 1 March 1912.

Less known than Notre-Dame-la-Grande Church, this immense stone vessel is yet the largest religious building in the city and a landmark visible from afar in the urban landscape. Built on the initiative of the bishop of Poitiers and the chapter of Saint Peter after 1150, consecrated in 1379, it is of an angeline Gothic style (use of arches curved on a square plane) and is similar to the hall churches by its division into three vessels of almost equal height. The facade, containing two unfinished towers, borrows elements from the stylistic grammar of northern France.

The interior preserves 13th-century stalls and a collection of historical stained-glass windows dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, including a Crucifixion, which includes among the tops of the art of medieval French stained-glass windows.