Amiens. Cathedral of Notre-Dame

• A model Gothic church in France.
• A jewel listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The "Gothic church par excellence", according to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Notre-Dame d'Amiens is the largest of the French cathedrals in terms of its interior volume, with its plan of five naves and radiating chapels.

Rebuilt for the most part between 1220 and 1270, Amiens cathedral displays great stylistic unity. The ^13th-century portals feature a wealth of statuary, particularly the large portal on the west facade, where the figure of Christ, known as the "Beau Dieu", has recently recovered some of its original polychrome. Inside, you can admire a large collection of funerary monuments dating from the ^12th to 18th centuries, a polychrome sculpted choir tower from the ^15th and ^16thcenturies, an exceptional collection of ^15th-century choir stalls and impressive ^18th-century decorative works. Notre-Dame d'Amiens was spared by the French Revolution and the bombardments of the Second World War, but it remains one of the finest examples of Gothic sacred art, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The cathedral is also listed as a stage monument on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela.

AppendicesBuilding plans, district plansGlossary Chronology Bibliography

Philippe Plagnieux is an art historian and professor of medieval art history at the University of Franche-Comté and the Ecole Nationale des Chartes. He is the author of the Itinéraire La basilique cathédrale de Saint-Denis and the book La basilique Saint-Denis inthe "Monographies d'édifices" collection.