Cathédrale Saint Pierre de Beauvais

The Saint-Pierre cathedral dominates the city of Beauvais by its prodigious dimensions: its Gothic choir of the 13th century, 48 m high under vault, is the highest of history and especially the most slender: a glass cage rising more than 20 m above the ambulatory, impressive! The famous medievalist architect Viollet-le-Duc considered it the "Parthenon of French architecture". If it had been completed, the cathedral of Beauvais would certainly be the largest Gothic building in the world. But the ups and downs of its construction, which lasted 350 years, and the profound changes in society during this period did not allow its completion, and its nave was never built. Unique consequence: in Beauvais two cathedrals still stand side by side, as if suspended between two eras, the old cathedral known as "la Basse Oeuvre" offers a precious testimony of the architecture of the year 1000. An audio-guided tour in five European languages is offered to discover it. In addition to its valuable furniture, the cathedral has two astronomical clocks: the oldest carillon clock still in operation and the most complex mechanical clock ever made. An audio-visual presentation in five European languages is offered. You can watch the scene of the "Last Judgment" interpreted by its 68 automatons.