Laon - Cathedral

In Laon, placed on a ridge and overlooking the flat Picardy plain, St. Remi founded a bishopric in 487. Laon was a very important place in the kingdom of the Franks.

A Carolingian cathedral, consecrated in 800 in the presence of Charlemagne, existed here. The Carolingian structure got replaced two centuries later by a Romanesque structure, consecrated in 1071.

This cathedral was torched by the citizens during the Easter Insurrection on 25 April 1112. Bishop Waldric (aka "Gaudry"), who had served as Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of England, from 1103 to 1107 (and described as greedy and very violent) was killed during the uproar. The cathedral got repaired, but in the end demolished to give room for the present cathedral.

The construction began about 1160. The nave was completed after 1205. The "Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon", towering over the town, is a wonderful, early example of the Gothic style that developed in Northern France.

The western facade´s left portal. The tympanum has the Annunciation (left), the Nativity (center) and (right) the angel, telling the shepherds to walk to Bethlehem. Above is the Adoration of the Magi. Virgin Mary in the center is crowned and seated on a kind of throne. On the right side stands an angel and beside him is Saint Joseph, watching the scene.