Limoges - Cathédrale Saint-Étienne

The city was founded as Augustoritum by the Romans, around 10 BC. Later it was "renamed" after the tribe of the Lemovices whose chief town it was.

Limoges was evangelized by Saint Martial, who came to the city around 250. Starting from the construction of the Abbey of St. Martial in the 9th century, the settlement grew around the tomb of the saint.

Starting from the 11th century, thanks to the presence of the Abbey of St. Martial and its large library, Limoges became a flourishing artistic centre. It was home to an important school of medieval music composition. In the 13th century, at the peak of its splendour, central Limoges consisted of two fortified settlements.

In 1370 during the Hundred Years War, Limoges was occupied by Edward, the Black Prince, who massacred some 300 residents with another members of the garrison.

In 1095 Pope Urban II consecrated a Romanesque cathedral on the site of today's church, but alreday Bishop Aymeric de La Serre decided to build a new cathedral. The foundation stone was laid in 1273. First the choir was built, which was added to the Romanesque nave. In 1327 the construction work stopped for about 50 years due to lack of money. After the end of the Hundred Years War, the two eastern bays of the nave were built between 1458 and 1499. In 1533 the construction of the four western nave bays was commisioned. Due to the Huguenot Wars, construction work was interrupted again. It was only in the third construction phase, from 1876 to 1888 that the nave was connected to the previously isolated 62-meter-high bell tower.