Travel Log

Our final church is the Cathedrale Notre-Dame in Amiens, usually referred to as the Amiens Cathedral. We were here on a Sunday morning, so church bells were ringing as we entered the church square. A UNESCO World Heritage Center, this 13 th -century church was completed in about 50 years. Due to its fast and uninterrupted construction, the structure has a unity of High Gothic style throughout.

Our second church was Cathedrale Saint-Pierre in Beauvais. This church was the climax of French upwardly aspiring Gothic architecture. The tallest structure of the entire tour, it had the highest vault in medieval Europe.
Even today when we are accustomed to seeing skyscrapers, it calls for a “wow” when you go inside.

After visiting Chartres Cathedral, we visited Saint Pierre Church, a parish church that is not so well known. The church was outside Chartres’ city limits when it was part of a Benedictine Monastery. Because it was utside the city walls, it was vulnerable to
attack.

There has been so much to learn on this trip. I am usually quite excited about rushing into a cathedral to look at the windows, the arches, and the vaulting to see how these medieval masons put it all together in such beautiful and inventive ways. Visiting the Cathedrale Notre-Dame (more often called the Chartres Cathedral) taught me to spend more time on the outside and look – really look – at the building’s external sculpture.

What can one possibly say about Saint Denis? Let’s begin with some basic information – the abbey church is important both to French politics and architectural history. A “royal” church, it is the burial place of French Kings. Many consider it the birthplace of Gothic cathedral architecture, due to its pointed arches, rib vaulting, and skeletal
structure.