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Origin and history

St Peter's Cathedral in Poitiers, located in the Vienne department in New Aquitaine, is an angeline Gothic building built from the 3rd quarter of the 12th century until the 14th century. Initiated around 1150 by the bishop of Poitiers and the chapter of St Peter, his realization was financed in part by donations, potentially including those of Alienor of Aquitaine and Henri II of England. Consecrated in 1379 after seven campaigns of works marked by major architectural changes, it is distinguished by its curved vaults and its absence of arches-butters, rare characteristics for a cathedral of this size.

The cathedral was the scene of significant historical events, such as its looting by the English troops in 1346 during the Hundred Years' War, or the damage suffered during the Wars of Religion in 1562 and 1569, where the impacts of balllets of Protestant cannons are still visible on his bedside. In the 17th century, a fire destroyed the organ and damaged the rosace, rebuilt in 1687 in a more decorated style. Ranked a historical monument in 1875 and raised to the rank of minor basilica in 1912, it now houses an exceptional artistic treasure, including 12th century stained glass windows, 13th century stalls, and an 18th century Clicquot organ.

The building, of church-hall type, consists of three vessels of almost identical height, without triforium or high windows, creating a particular luminosity reinforced by geminated bays. Its western facade, influenced by the northern Gothic, has a rose of 9 meters in diameter and three carved gates illustrating the Last Judgment, the Dormition of the Virgin and the life of St Thomas. Inside, the tree-shaped maze, medieval murals rediscovered in 2015, and historical stained glass windows – including a Crucifixion considered a masterpiece – bear witness to the richness of its heritage.

The cathedral has also played a central role in local religious life, serving as an episcopal seat since the Middle Ages. After the Revolution, it became a parish church before regaining its episcopal status in 1801. Since 2002, Poitiers is an archdiocese, and the cathedral houses the metropolitan seat of several dioceses of New Aquitaine. Its furniture, enriched after 1789 by works from deleted abbeys, includes baroque altarpieces, a 17th century Virgin with Child, and some of the oldest stalls in France.

The impressive dimensions of the cathedral – 96.40 metres long, 34.40 metres wide, and a vault culminating at 27.90 metres – make it the largest religious building in Poitiers. Its flat bedside, devoid of bow-buttons like those of Laon or Luçon, and its two unfinished towers, completed only in the sixteenth century, underline its architectural originality. Recent restorations, such as that of the southern transept murals (2015–2017), continue to reveal hidden treasures, confirming its status as an emblematic monument of French heritage.

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