Belfort Cathedral

About

Saint-Christophe Cathedral in Belfort is a Catholic cathedral located in Belfort, France. It is the seat of the diocese of Belfort-Montbéliard.

History: The cathedral was built as an abbey church from 1727 to 1750 by the entrepreneur Henri Schuller (or Shuler) on the plans of Jacques Philippe Mareschal, the king's ordinary engineer in Strasbourg, who, called to Strasbourg's chiefdom, could not perform it himself. The estimate was 146,334 pounds. The pink sandstone quarry of Ofemont, three kilometres from Belfort, provided the necessary stone. On 12 Oct. 1727 the masonry of the foundations of the church was awarded, and on 16 Oct. the provost of the collegiate Jean-Claude Noblat, delegate of his Highness in Grimaldi, gave the blessing of the land and the first stone of the building. The foundations were then led quickly. Jacques Philippe Mareschal made different plans during the construction.

The abbey was opened for worship in 1750, but was not truly completed until 1845, when the south tower was built. Henri Schuller's son was abbot in this abbey church. The building is classified...