Toul Cathedral

Toul Cathedral is a classic example of late Gothic architecture in the Flamboyant style. The cathedral has one of the biggest cloisters in France.

The towers of the facade measuring 65 meters high, the nave, 100 m long and a vault height of 30 meters and a transept 56 meters wide. Despite construction over more than three centuries, the building's facade has a homogeneity of style. The 13th century saw the construction of the choir, the transept, the last section of the nave and the first row of the gallery of the cloisters.

A remarkable element is the transept which embraces larges windows over nearly the entire height of the transept wall. This glass wall effect is later seen in the western facade of the Cathedral of Metz a century later and also in the reconstruction of the transept of the Basilica of St. Vincent de Metz. The four bays of the nave were built in the 14th century,

In the 15th century the magnificent Gothic façade and the first two bays of the nave were built. In the 16th century two Renaissance chapels were added to the front of the north and south aisles of the nave. The Chapel of All Saints, became the burial of Jean Forget, chaplain and cantor of the chapter of canons. The Chapel of Bishops with its flat coffered roof, supported by simple low arches - has been closed for fifty years, awaiting restoration.

During the French Revolution the sculpted figures of the facade were destroyed. A bombing during the Second World War destroyed the roof and the organ. A major restoration campaign began in the 1980s.

Generally the cathedral is a synthesis of the influence of the Verdun Cathedral choir for the design of crypt and flanked by towers and facade of Reims.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Place des Clercs 3, Toul, France

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Religious sites in France
Historical period: Late Capetians (France)