NOTRE-DAME DE BAYEUX CATHEDRAL
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The Romanesque and Gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Bayeux, with a Chapter House accessible during guided tours.
In the heart of Old Bayeux, Notre-Dame Cathedral is undoubtedly one of France’s most exceptional Romanesque and Gothic buildings. The proud towers of the western façade and the crypt date back to the 11th century, when the cathedral was built by bishops Hugues d’Ivry and Odon de Conteville, half-brother of William the Conqueror. It is said that it was to decorate the nave that Odon had the Bayeux Tapestry embroidered, a famous masterpiece of the Middle Ages. Inaugurated by Odon and Mathilde in 1077, the cathedral was destroyed thirty years later during the civil war between the sons of the Duke of Normandy. All that remains of its Romanesque reconstruction in the early 11th century are the nave’s large arcades and their decoration. The end of the 11th century and the following century - after serious fires - are marked by the Gothic style, visible in the choir, the chapels and the Chapter House. The latter, accessible only on guided tours, like the Treasure Room, houses a rare floor-painted prayer labyrinth, similar to that in Chartres Cathedral. The central tower was begun in the 15th century under Bishop Louis d’Harcourt, then completed in the 19th century following Eugène Flachat’s extraordinary work to prevent the tower from collapsing. In short, a masterpiece of Norman Gothic art, restored to its magnificence by a masterly restoration, and one of the great French cathedrals to (re) discover.
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