Auxerre - Cathédrale Saint-Étienne

The "Via Agrippa" crossed the Yonne river here and the Gallo-Roman settlement flourished and became a provincial capital of the Roman Empire. About the same time, the seat of a bishop was installed and the first cathedral was erected in the 5th century. Rampaged by the Huns in 451, Auxerre came under Merovingian and later Carolingian rule. The Norman invasion ended, when Saint Géran, bishop of Auxerre, defeated the Normans at Saint-Florentin in 912. Auxerre suffered two large fires in the 11th century. The cathedral burnt completely down.

The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne seen today is actually the 5th on the spot. The erection started in 1215 and the choir was completed in 1235. The stained glass of the choir windows was created until 1250. The same time, the construction of the facade began. Around 1300, construction began on the southern arm of the transept. The sculptured portal is dated to around 1320. The nave was built from around 1320–1350,
but the Hundred Years' War slowed the work down and delayed the completion of the south aisle until 1378. The north transept and the towers had not begun at the beginning of the 15th century. In 1478, the nave was vaulted and in 1500 work on the north tower began and was completed after 43 years. The south tower was never completed.