La Rochelle Cathedral
Encyclopedia
La Rochelle Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France
since 1906, located in the town of La Rochelle
.
, was dead; the work was supervised, from a distance, by his son Ange-Jacques Gabriel
. Although still not complete, it was consecrated anyway in 1784. The structure is a rather bare Neo-Classical
one. The cupola has paintings by William Bouguereau, a native of the city.
bell tower
of the church of St. Barthélémy (Saint Bartholomew), first constructed in 1152 by monks from the Ile d'Aix, the rest of which was destroyed by the Huguenot
s in 1568. The tower, on one of the highest points of La Rochelle, was used as a gun tower against the besieging army of Louis XIII in 1627.
The displaced parishioners were able in 1628 to take over as their church the grand temple, a former Protestant church adjacent to the site of the medieval St. Barthélémy, only to find in 1648, on the creation of the Diocese of La Rochelle, that the new chapter wished to use it as the cathedral. The parishioners therefore built a new church of St. Barthélémy nearby, which was completed in 1678. The older church however burnt down in 1687 and the chapter moved into the new church, which they and the parish were obliged to share until the consecration of the new cathedral in 1784. The church was entirely destroyed during the French Revolution
and the site re-developed with houses, which were demolished later in the 19th century when it was possible to finish the cathedral.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1906, located in the town of La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
.
Present cathedral
The Diocese of La Rochelle (Diocese of La Rochelle-Saintes from 1852) was created in 1648 but the first stone of the new cathedral was not laid until 1742, by which time the architect who drew up the plans, Jacques GabrielJacques Gabriel
Jacques Gabriel was a French architect, the father of the famous Ange-Jacques Gabriel.His mother was a cousin of Jules Hardouin-Mansart and his father, another Jacques Gabriel was a masonry contractor for the Bâtiments du Roi, the French royal works, and the designer of the Château de Choisy for...
, was dead; the work was supervised, from a distance, by his son Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the most prominent French architect of his generation.Born to a Parisian family of architects and initially trained by the royal architect Robert de Cotte and his father , whom he assisted in the creation of the Place Royale at Bordeaux , the younger Gabriel...
. Although still not complete, it was consecrated anyway in 1784. The structure is a rather bare Neo-Classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
one. The cupola has paintings by William Bouguereau, a native of the city.
St. Barthélémy
Attached to the chevet of the present cathedral is the late medieval GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
of the church of St. Barthélémy (Saint Bartholomew), first constructed in 1152 by monks from the Ile d'Aix, the rest of which was destroyed by the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s in 1568. The tower, on one of the highest points of La Rochelle, was used as a gun tower against the besieging army of Louis XIII in 1627.
The displaced parishioners were able in 1628 to take over as their church the grand temple, a former Protestant church adjacent to the site of the medieval St. Barthélémy, only to find in 1648, on the creation of the Diocese of La Rochelle, that the new chapter wished to use it as the cathedral. The parishioners therefore built a new church of St. Barthélémy nearby, which was completed in 1678. The older church however burnt down in 1687 and the chapter moved into the new church, which they and the parish were obliged to share until the consecration of the new cathedral in 1784. The church was entirely destroyed during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and the site re-developed with houses, which were demolished later in the 19th century when it was possible to finish the cathedral.
External links
- Location of the cathedral
- La Rochelle et Son Histoire: Tours
- Église paroissiale Saint-Barthélemy à La Rochelle
- Photos, French Ministry of Culture
- http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/merimee_fr?ACTION=RETROUVER&FIELD_1=cmer1&VALUE_1=la%20rochelle&FIELD_6=titre&VALUE_6=Eglise%20paroissiale%20Saint%2dBarth%e9lemy&NUMBER=1&GRP=0&REQ=%28%28la%20rochelle%29%20%3aLOCA%2cPLOC%2cINSEE%20%20ET%20%20%28%28Eglise%20paroissiale%20Saint%2dBarth%e9lemy%29%20%3aTICO%20%29%29&USRNAME=nobody&USRPWD=4%24%2534P&SPEC=9&SYN=1&IMLY=&MAX1=1&MAX2=100&MAX3=100&DOM=TousNotice Saint-Barthélémy], Base Mérimée, French Ministry of Culture