Constructed in the 1140s, the west facade of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres is quite different from the north and south porches built 75 years later. The portals are shallower, and the jamb statues are elongated and columnar compared to the more realistic and elaborate statuary on the north and south. Regardless of which side of […]

The Cathédrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens is the third of the great cathedrals built in northern France during the thirteenth century (the others being the cathedrals in Reims and Chartres). Besides being the largest Gothic cathedral in France, it has an impressive set of medieval sculptures on its facade and many old polychrome sculptures inside. But the […]

A church has existed in Laon since the beginning of the fifth century. However, the Gothic structure we have today dates back to the 1150s, owing to a parish uprising that destroyed several buildings, including the Romanesque church. Completed in a mere 80 years, the Cathedral is a stylistically unified example of Early Gothic architecture. […]