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Origin and history

Saint Lazare Cathedral in Autun, built between 1120 and 1146 under the leadership of Bishop Stephen I of Baugé, replaces a first cathedral dedicated to Saint Nazaire. Designed to house the relics of St.Lazarus of Aix — confused at the time with those of the biblical Lazarus — it became the episcopal seat of Autun at the end of the 12th century. Its architecture is inspired by Paray-le-Monial's abbey, with a broken vaulted nave and bow-buttons added in the 13th century to stabilize the building. The 80-metre-high Gothic arrow was erected in 1469 by Cardinal Rolin after the destruction of the Romanesque bell tower by lightning.

The Western portal, carved by Gislebertus, is a jewel of Romanesque art. His tympanum of the Last Judgment (1130–146), restored in 2009, illustrates an optimistic vision of redemption, with Christ in majesty, Saint Michael weighing souls, and the Virgin interceding for the elect. The lintel represents the resurrection of the dead and the lust, symbolized by a woman with breasts bitten by snakes. A frieze of medallions alternate signs of the zodiac and work of the months, reflecting the liturgical and agricultural medieval calendar. These sculptures, considered "barbaric" in the 18th century, were plastered in 1766, protecting them from revolutionary destruction.

The interior preserves historic capitals in the nave, a 15th century Gothic choir, and 19th century stained glass windows illustrating the life of Saint Léger, martyr bishop of Autun. Among the notable works are the altarpiece Noli me tangere (16th century), a Pietà du Guerchin, and the Martyr of Saint Symphorian by Ingres. The adjacent Rolin Museum exhibits remains dismantled in the 18th century, such as The Tentation of Eve — one of the first carved nudes of Romanesque art — and fragments of the tomb of Saint Lazarus. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1840, the cathedral and its neighbourhood have been protected by an area protected since 1973.

The cathedral has undergone controversial transformations: the destruction of the Jube, the tomb of Saint Lazarus, and the mosaic of the twelfth century to the choir under the canons of the eighteenth century, not sensitive to medieval art. The head of Christ's tympanum, which was severed in 1766, was not replaced until 1948. In 2011, the liturgical space was modernized by artist Gudji, incorporating an altar, an ambon and a contemporary cathedra. The organ, built in 1876 by Merklin, awaits restoration after decades of modifications.

A symbol of Romanesque renewal in Burgundy, Saint-Lazare Cathedral combines clunisian influences and sculptural innovations. His tympanum, often compared to that of Conques, bears witness to a visual theology accessible to the illiterate faithful. The relics of Saint Lazarus, the object of pilgrimages, and the gate of Mercy opened during the Jubilee of 2015–2016 reinforce his spiritual role. Today, the monument embodies both an exceptional artistic heritage and a living place of worship, anchored in the history of Autun since the Middle Ages.

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