Bayeux - Cathedral

The cathedral "Notre-Dame de Bayeux" is the seat of the Bishop of Bayeux. It was the original home of the Bayeux Tapestry, that by now can be seen in a nearby museum.

As seen on the Bayeux Tapestry, it was here that William the Bastard forced Harold Godwinson to take the oath, the breaking of which led to the Norman conquest of England. So William got "the Conqueror".

The preceding carolingian cathedral burnt down in 1047 and soon after the construction of the church seen today started. The cathedral got consecrated in 1077 by power-hungry Odon de Bayeux, who was William´s half-brother, well known warrior and bishop here. Of course, William was present during the consecration, as then he was Duke of Normandy and King of England.

At that time the building was not completed, the construction site was seriously damaged twice by fire during the 12th century and, when the walls of the nave were built (1180) the style changed from Romanesque to Gothic.

The cathedral got pillaged by Huguenots during the Wars of Religions, during the French Cathedral this was a "Temple de la Raison".
Renovation and restauration of the cathedral started mid 19th century under the direction of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

The structure of the nave is still Romanesque, so are many decorating carvings. The arch consists out of 62 different heads. This seems to be a typical "norman" design, as similar, but simpler arches can be found in many churches here.