Amiens Cathedral
Church in Amiens, France / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Paris.
Amiens Cathedral | |
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Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens | |
French: Notre-Dame d'Amiens | |
49°53′42″N 2°18′08″E | |
Location | Amiens |
Country | France |
Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
Website | www |
History | |
Status | Cathedral |
Relics held | Alleged head of John the Baptist |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Architect(s) | Robert of Luzarches Thomas and Regnault de Cormont[1] |
Style | Rayonnant |
Years built | c. 1220–1270 |
Specifications | |
Length | 145 m (476 ft) |
Width | 70 m (230 ft) |
Nave width | 14.60 m (47.9 ft)[2] |
Height | 42.30 m (138.8 ft) |
Other dimensions | Façade: NW |
Floor area | 7,700 square meters |
Number of spires | 1 |
Spire height | 112.70 m (369.8 ft)[2] |
Administration | |
Province | Reims |
Diocese | Amiens |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Bishop Gérard Le Stang[3] |
Official name | Amiens Cathedral |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, ii |
Designated | 1981[4] |
Reference no. | 162 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Session | 5th |
Official name | Cathédrale Notre-Dame |
Designated | 1862 |
Reference no. | PA00116046[1] |
Denomination | Église |
The cathedral was built almost entirely between 1220 and c. 1270, a remarkably short period of time for a Gothic cathedral, giving it an unusual unity of style. Amiens is an early example of the High Gothic period, and the Rayonnant style of Gothic architecture.[5] [6] The Rayonnant appeared in the triforiuum and clerestory, which were begun in 1236, and in the enlarged high windows of the choir, added in the mid-1250s.[6]
Its builders were trying to maximize the internal dimensions in order to reach for the heavens and bring in more light. As a result, Amiens Cathedral is the largest in France,[7] 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd), large enough to contain two cathedrals the size of Notre Dame of Paris.[8]
The cathedral has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.[9] Although it has lost much of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the quality and quantity of early 13th-century Gothic sculpture in the main west façade and the south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the building.