Orléans - Cathédrale Sainte-Croix

Noontime on a sunny sunday in Orléans.

The Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Orléans. A bishopric existed in Orléans since about 350, when the city was called Aurelianum. A predecessing cathedral was looted by the Normans in 865 and rebuilt by Caroligian Kings Carloman II and Arnulf of Carinthia. That church burnt down in a blaze in 999.

In the 12th century a large cathedral was erected in Romanesque style, but in 1227 the facade of this structure collapsed. It was decided to replace the building with a Gothic cathedral. The construction started in 1288 and was not completed in 1428, when Orléans was under siege. Joan of Arc's lifted the Siege of Orléans, what was her first major military victory. She attended a Mass here in May 1429.

During the Wars of Religion Huguenot troops took Orléans. Louis, Prince of Condé, who led the army, tried to save the cathedral. But bricking up the portals was not enough, some fury soldiers climbed in and blew the crossing up, what caused the collapse of the structure in 1568.

Henry IV (aka "Henri-Quatre") and his spouse Marie de' Medici laid out the foundation stone in 1601. In 1773 the new facade was completed, but when the French Revolution started the building of the towers stopped. The towers got finally completed in the 19th century. During WWII the cathedral was hit by shells - and renovations are still not finished.