Auxerre - Saint-Étienne d'Auxerre

Auxerre was a Gallo-Roman centre, then called Autissiodorum. It became the seat of a bishop already in the 3rd century. In the 5th century, it received a cathedral.

Wine cultivations starting from the twelfth century made Auxerre a flourishing town. Auxerre suffered during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. In 1567 it was captured by the Huguenots, and many of the Catholic edifices were damaged.

The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne is actually the 5th on the spot.

The erection started in 1215 around the same time when the building of the cathedrals in Reims and Amiens started. The church was erected over a still existing crypt from the previous building (~ 1030). The choir was completed in 1235. At the same time, the construction of the facade began.

The sculptured portal is dated to around 1320.

I have been here a couple of times and have uploaded already many photos, so this time I will cut it down to just a few.

The three tympana of the facade are pretty damaged.

In the lower level are depicted the "Annunciation", the "Nativity" and the "Presentation in the Temple".

The nativity scene is as well a "First Bath", but the ox and ass are missing. The first-bath-scene is repeated in the upper left corner. This time with ox and ass.