Metz - Saint-Étienne

Metz was a Celtic settlement before Caesar´s conquest of Gaul. After the Romans had left and after the Huns lead by Attila had burnt it down in 451, the Merovingian kings made Metz to the capital of Austrasia.

Bishop Arnulf of Metz, advisor to the Merovingian court, was a progenitor of the Carolingian dynasty. Bishop Chrodegang of Metz, Charles Martel´s chancellor, founded the important Gorze Abbey, known for a monastic reform movement, similar to that one of Cluny. Between 823 and - 855 Drogo of Metz, an illegitimate son of Charlemagne and strong supporter of his half brother Louis the Pious and Louis´ son Charles the Bald, was Bishop here.

Saint-Étienne de Metz, built over a shrine of Protomartyr Saint Stephen is the seat of the Bishop of Metz. The construction of the Gothic cathedral began in 1220 within the foundations of the Romanesque basilica. The cathedral was completed three centuries later and got consecrated in 1552. The cathedral is nicknamed "La lanterne du Bon Dieu" ("Good Lord's Lantern") displaying the largest expanse of stained glass in the world with about 6500 m².

This elephant is a detail from the southwestern "Portal of the Virgin". It may well be, that the carving was created during the restoration period end of the 19th century.