Bourges Cathedral

The "Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges" was erected as a replacement for a 11th-century structure. The construction started probably in the last quarter of the 12th century, around the same time, when the builders and bricklayers started in Chartres. The choir of the cathedral was in use by 1214, the nave was finished 1255. The cathedral was consecrated in 1324.

The western facade was finished by 1270. It is very wide (42m), as the four side aisles and central nave each have their own portal.

There are even two more (side-) portals, older ones, that were once part of the Romanesque cathedral that got demolished and was replaced end of the 12th century, by the structure seen today.

The walls near the portals are covered with carved graffiti, what is very common in France. This one is pretty elaborate, as a stone driller was used, to create the coat of arms. The vandal, who used the driller, may have been a member of the Huguenot troops, that tried to burn down the cathedral in 1565. They failed. Of course the graffitto could as well have been carved in after the French Revolution, but coats of arms, being a symbol of nobility, where a bit out of fashion then.