Auxerre - Cathédrale Saint-Étienne

The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne seen today is actually the 5th on the spot.

The erection started in 1215 around the same time, when the building of the cathedrals in Reims and Amiens started. The choir was completed in 1235. The stained glass of the choir windows was created until 1250. The same time, the construction of the facade began. Around 1300, construction began on the southern arm of the transept.

The sculptured portal is dated to around 1320. The nave was built from around 1320–1350, but the Hundred Years' War slowed the work down and delayed the completion of the south aisle until 1378. The north transept and the towers had not begun at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1478, the nave was vaulted and in 1500 work on the north tower began and was completed after 43 years. The south tower was never completed.

The cathedral is known for its fantastic stained windows from the 13th century. Despite the harm, they suffered from the Huguenot iconoclasts, most of them are still intact

Here are Moses (EXODUS), the Fall of Adam and Eve (GENESIS) and Samson (JUDGES).

Seen on the

bottom
Moses receiving the tablets of Law

above
Adam and Eve are expelled from Paradise

on top
Samson carrying off the gates of Gaza
Delilah cutting Samson's hair
The Philistines gouge out Samson's eyes
The blind Samson, hair now regrown, is guided by a boy
Samson between the pillars in the House of the Philistines
Samson's body is carried to the burial place of his fathers