Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral - Troyes

The Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral in Troyes has the reputation of having one of the finest collections of stained glass in France , with 1,500 m2 of windows (the equivalent of two handball courts), but it also hides another gem: its treasury.

It was probably the bishop Saint Loup who had the first cathedral built here in the 5th century, in the south-eastern corner of the castrum (fortified city). However, it was almost completely destroyed in 890 when the Normans set fire to Troyes. At the end of the 10th century, after a long period of unrest, Milon, the 44th bishop of Troyes, had the building rebuilt in the Romanesque style . However, a new fire destroyed much of the city in 1188 and this second cathedral (located on the site of the current one) was seriously damaged.

An era of Christian fervor and technical innovation ushered in Gothic or Ogive art in France in the twelfth century: from 1198 the bishops Garnier de Trainel and then Hervée (depicted in a twelfth-century stained glass window in the choir) began building one of the largest and most beautiful cathedrals in France , beginning with the chevet chapels on the site of the old Gallo-Roman walls. The transept was built in 1260 and the first spans of the nave in 1310, but the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) interrupted work.

In the 16th century, the last bays were built on the site of the former cathedral. The west façade, a masterpiece by Martin Chambiges , a master mason from Paris, was completed in 1554, along with the base of St. Peter's tower (which was not finished until 1634). St. Paul's tower was never built due to a crisis of faith and a lack of funding.

The cathedral, built over 400 years, illustrates the phases of the Gothic styles, but the whole is very homogeneous and admirable, both inside and out. With a length of 114 m and a height of 28.50 m, it is one of the most famous cathedrals in France for its elegance, the quality of its sculptures, paintings, tapestries and especially its listed stained glass windows (1,500 m2).

In the choir, the 13th-century stained glass windows depict Mary, John, the Virgin Mary and the Virgin Mary. In the nave, there is the Tree of Jesse (± 1500), and in the lower north side of the nave , the Mystical Pressoir (1625) by Linard Gonthier, a famous glass painter from Troy (1565-1642).

The choir stalls in carved wood (17th century) come from the Abbey of Clairvaux , as do the famous large organs (18th century).

Among other wonders, the treasury contains an 11th-century Byzantine purple ivory box . This object was part of the booty taken from Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. In addition to a fine collection of medieval enamels, the treasury contains another gem: the shrine of Saint Bernard , which houses the relics (his skull and a femur) of the spiritual father of the Knights Templar. Pilgrims come from all over Europe to pray before the bones of the founder of Clairvaux Abbey. The chalice, paten, crosier and pastoral ring of the bishop who founded the cathedral, Monseigneur Hervée, have also been carefully preserved.

It was in this cathedral that the "infamous Treaty of Troyes" was signed in 1420, giving the crown of France to Henry V of England. On 10 July 1429 , Joan of Arc obtained the allegiance of the city to the young Charles VII in order to "drive the English out of France", as a plaque at the bottom of the tower indicates.

In 1536, Denis Bolori, an Italian-born watchmaker from Troyes, took to the skies from this tower . He had developed articulated wings that kept him in the air for several minutes before crashing 1 km to the east, in Saint-Parres-aux-Tertres. A little-known pioneer of aviation!

Willem Vandenameele