NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL OF CUSTOMS
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Romanesque cathedral in Coutances, with a three-storey lantern tower and a gallery at the foot of the high windows.
The building’s "Gothic" history began eight centuries ago, but the episcopal see was founded in the 5th century. During the Viking invasions, the bishop was exiled to Rouen, and it was not until 1048 that a bishop returned to Coutances. Shortly afterwards, Bishop Geoffroy de Montbray had a church built in the purest Romanesque style from Chausey granite. This Romanesque cathedral was consecrated in 1056. At the beginning of the 13th century, Bishop Hugues de Morville launched the construction of the Gothic edifice, lining the Romanesque remains of the façade and nave with a new-style envelope of Yvetot limestone, and completely rebuilding the choir. Characteristic references to the Norman style are the lantern tower with openings that flood the building with light, the three-level elevation and the gallery at the foot of the high windows. In the second half of the 13th century and in the 14th century, the side chapels and the axis chapel were added. Visitors can admire a set of 13th-century stained glass windows, unique in Normandy, as well as the mid-15th-century Last Judgement window. Today, as in the past, the cathedral remains the emblem of the city, dominating it with its imposing mass. You can enter it every day, and be overwhelmed by its majesty and beauty. You can also take part in a guided tour - because a building like this can’t be discovered on its own. A must-see.
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