The Largest Cathedral of France
Notre Dame of Amiens cathedral surviving time and wars.
In the first part of the story, we tried to understand Amiens' cathedral's colossal dimensions and credit its architects' genius.
Here, we first consider the odds of a gigantic cathedral enduring centuries before further exploring the cathedral's treasures.
Surviving time
The 2019 fire of Notre Dame de Paris was a sharp reminder of the fragility of cathedrals.
The threat is not just fire but physics: they are medieval skyscrapers stretching the limits of stone and must be regularly maintained lest they collapse.
In past centuries, there was religious strife and the French Revolution. Compared to Paris, Amiens was reasonably spared.
But Amiens had the misfortune of having first-row seating to the Hundred Years’ War and, later, the two world wars.
Surviving two world wars
We must discuss some unpleasant facts before getting to our Moment of Wonder.
During the First World War, the Germans bombed Reims cathedral—nearly destroying it—and a German plane dropped bombs on Notre Dame de Paris—one fell on the roof and started a fire.
Amiens was close to one of history's worst carnages, the Battle of the Somme.
It is challenging to make sense of the numbers, but using one might help: in a single day, over 19,000 British soldiers lost their lives.
Seven bombs did fall on the cathedral. And before the damage could effectively be patched up, the Germans returned.
In 1940, as seen from the photo above, three-quarters of Amiens’ historic center was destroyed by German bombs.
Fortunately, the cathedral survived. This leads us to what happened to the original stained-glass windows.
Disaster for the stained-glass windows
In 1915, the authorities took the stained-glass windows to safety to protect them from German bombing.
Once the war was over, it was a perfect opportunity to restore them. This was when tragedy struck: an accidental fire burned the restorer's workshop and nearly all the windows.
That is why there are many white windows in Amiens.
Broken record alert: Look at the photo below and ask yourself if ‘Gothic’—monuments designed by Barbarian Goths—is an accurate label.
Restoring Notre Dame of Amiens cathedral
The cathedral underwent restoration for most of the 1800s. One of the architects in charge signed his work with his self-portrait above.
He had some experience, having previously worked on restoring Notre Dame de Paris…
If you are puzzled that a 19th-century architect painted statues with so much color, wait until you see the originals.
Colored statues
One can see remains of paint on the exterior statues, even after centuries out in the elements.
The big secret in art history is that most ancient statues were brightly colored.
Around the choir, like an immense static theatre, the stories of the local Saint, Firmin, and John the Baptist are told—the cathedral’s treasure holds the reliquary of John the Baptist's head.
The sculptors took inspiration from the people around them. Looking at these statues, one feels like rubbing shoulders with the regular folks of Amiens five centuries ago.
These images are like graphic novels to help worshippers understand and memorize religious stories.
Unfortunately, the original labyrinth was destroyed in the 1820s, but an accurate reconstruction has replaced it.
Amiens' stalls
In ancient times, the choir was only accessible to clergy. Today, a lucky few can discover it for 45 minutes most days of the week.
The misericords—'mercy seats' for priests who had to stand for hours on end to sit during office discreetly—are artistic wonders in their own right.
With 4,000 figures—Old and New Testament—one cannot grasp every scene in one visit.
Confession time:
With these two stories, I am trying to explain why Amiens' cathedral is one of the most impressive monuments you will ever see.
There’s so much to say that I need a book's worth. And that I must keep returning, confident that I will discover something new every time.
On a sunny day, as I tried to grasp the cathedral's immensity and watched the kaleidoscope of color, I had a Moment of Wonder.
Hopefully, reading this two-part story was one for you, too.
This summer, I will offer a digital guidebook, "Wonders of Paris," to first-time and repeat visitors.
And "Wonders Outside Paris," a second book on monuments easily accessible from Paris in about an hour or so, such as Amiens cathedral.
