Bourges Cathedral in France

Bourges Cathedral is a cathedral dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in Bourges, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges. It is also called as Cathedrale Saint-Etienne de Bourges. The details of Bourges Cathedral are explained in world tour guides below.

The site occupied by the present cathedral was once the northeastern corner of the Gallo-Roman walled city has been the site of the cities main church since Carolingian times and probably since the foundation of the bishopric in the 3rd century. The present Cathedral was built as a replacement for a mid 11th century structure, traces of which survive in the crypt. The date when construction began is unknown, although a document of 1195 recording expenditure on rebuilding works suggests that construction was already underway by that date. The fact that the east end protrudes beyond the line of the Gallo-Roman walls and that royal permission to demolish those walls was only granted in 1183 shows that work on the foundations cannot have started before that date.

The main phase of construction is therefore roughly contemporaneous with Chartres Cathedral begun in 1194, some 200 km to the northwest. As with most Early- and High-Gothic cathedrals, the identity of the architect or master-mason is unknown. The choir was in use by 1214 and the nave was finished by 1255. The building was finally consecrated in 1324. Most of the west facade was finished by 1270, though work on the towers proceeded more slowly, partly due to the unfavourable rock strata beneath the site. Structural problems with the South tower led to the building of the adjoining buttress tower in the mid-14th century. The North tower was completed around the end of the 15th century but collapsed in 1506, destroying the Northern portion of the facade in the process. The North tower and its portal were subsequently rebuilt in a more contemporary style.

The cathedral suffered far less than some of its peers during the French Wars of Religion and in the Revolution. Its location meant it was also relatively safe from the ravages of both World Wars. The cathedral was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992. The cathedral's nave is 15m wide by 37m high; its arcade is 20m high; the inner aisle is 21.3m and the outer aisle is 9.3m high. The use of flying buttresses was employed to help the structure of the building. However, since this was a fairly new technique, one can easily see the walls were still made quite thick to take the force.

Bourges is notable for the unity of its design, seen in no other cathedral of the High Gothic era. It features two distinct horseshoe aisles that wrap around a central nave and choir. The inner aisle has a higher vault than the outer aisle, a feature which was copied at Toledo Cathedral and in the choir at Le Mans. Each ambulatory or aisle has its own portal at the west end. The five portal entrance necessitated more careful design to create a more coherent facade. This also eliminated the usual cross-shaped transept design. The gallery is absent instead the inner aisle has been raised. This gives the cathedral a pyramidal shape under the buttresses. The flying buttresses are very structurally efficient as the steep angle channels the thrust from the nave vaults and from wind loading more directly to the outer buttress piers.

The Great Tower is a copy of one found at the Louvre and symbolizes royal power. The statues on the facade smile at the tympanum of the Last Judgment, welcoming the Judgment of Christ. The Romanesque carved portals from about 1160-70, probably intended for the facade of the earlier cathedral, have been reused on the south and north doors. The profuse ornamentation is reminiscent of Burgundian work.

Bourges Cathedral retains almost all its original ambulatory glass apart from the axial chapel, dating from about 1215. The iconography used in many of these windows uses typology such as Old Testament episodes prefiguring events in the life of Christ and symbolism such as the pelican who pecks her breast to feed her young on her own blood and the lioness who licks the malformed cub into shape to communicate theological messages. Other windows show the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, the story of Dives and Lazarus, and the Apocalypse.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris, commonly known as Sacre Coeur Basilica is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. The details of Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris are explained in world tour guides below.

The inspiration for the Basilica originated in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades following French Revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on one side, and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other. This schism became particularly pronounced after the Franco Prussian War and the ensuing uprising of the Paris Commune of 1870-71. The Basilica is asserted to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblee nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction.

Montmartre had been the site of the Communes first insurrection, and many hard core communards were forever entombed in the subterranean galleries of former gypsum mines where they had retreated, by explosives detonated at the entrances by the Army of Versailles. Hostages had been executed on both sides, and the Communards had executed Georges Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic Church. His successor Guibert, climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a vision, as clouds dispersed over the panorama It is here, it is here where the martyrs are, it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come.

In the moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May 1873, Francois Pie, bishop of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal the hour of the Church has come that would be expressed through the Government of Moral Order of the Third Republic, which linked Catholic institutions with secular ones, in a project of religious and national renewal, the main features of which were the restoration of monarchy and the defense of Rome within a cultural framework of official piety, of which Sacre-Coeur is the chief lasting triumphalist monument.

The overall style of the structure shows a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, an unusual architectural vocabulary at the time, which was a conscious reaction against the neo-Baroque excesses of the Opera Garnier, which was cited in the competition. Many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes the portico, with its three arches, is adorned by two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefebvre and the nineteen ton Savoyarde bell, cast in 1895 in Annecy, alludes to the annexation of Savoy in 1860.

Abadie died not long after the foundation had been laid, in 1884, and five architects continued with the work Honore Daumet, Jean Charles Laisne, Henri-Pierre-Marie Rauline, Lucien Magne, and Jean-Louis Hulot. The Basilica was not completed until 1914, when war intervened the basilica was formally dedicated in 1919, after World War I, when its national symbolism had shifted.

Construction costs estimated at 7 million French francs and drawn entirely from private donations, were expended before any above-ground visible structure was to be seen. A provisional chapel was consecrated 3 March 1876, and pilgrimage donations quickly became the mainstay of funding. Donations were encouraged by the expedient of permitting donors to purchase individual columns or other features as small as a brick. It was declared by the National Assembly that the state had the ultimate responsibility for funding. Construction began in 1875 and was completed in 1914, although consecration of the basilica was delayed until after World War I.

The basilica is home to a large and very fine pipe organ built by Aristide Cavaille Coll for a private home in Biarritz, composed of 109 ranks and 78 speaking stops spread across four 61-note manuals and the 32-note pedalboard, spread across three expressive divisions the organ was ahead of its time, containing multiple expressive divisions and giving the performer considerable advantages over other even larger instruments of the day. It was almost identical to the instrument in Sheffield's Albert Hall, destroyed by fire in 1934. However, when installed in Paris in 1905 by Cavaille Colls successor and son-in-law, Charles Mutin, it lost its fine case for a much plainer one.

In response to requests from French bishops, Pope Pius IX promulgated the feast of the Sacred Heart in 1856. The basilica itself was consecrated on 16 October 1919. Since 1885, the Blessed Sacrament has been continually on display in a monstrance above the high altar. Perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the Basilica since 1885. Because of this, tourists and others are asked to dress appropriately when visiting the basilica and to observe silence as much as possible, so as not to disturb persons who have come from around the world to pray in this special place.