A little history of Notre-Dame cathedral in Noyon

The current cathedral is very old! Actually it was raised on the foundations of four religious buildings: the first one raised by saint Médard in the 6th century and burnt in 676. The second one, where Charlemagne was crowned in 768, demolished by Normans in 859. Then the third one was rebuilt, where Hugues Capet was crowned in 987.

Finally, the last one was restored in the 11th century and demolished by a fire in 1131. So bishop Beaudoin II started to raise the transept.

Beaudoin III continued building works with the nave; this one was finished in 1220.

A big fire in July 1293, damaged the nave's vaults and the roof collapsed. In the beginning of the 14th century, they added 6 chapels on the Southern aisles.

Pierre Le Verrier replaced the stained-glass windows in 1425, Jean Masse and Jean Turpin altered the two last vaults of the nave in 1460.

The second chapel on the aisle was built between 1528 and 1532. In 1730, they restored the roof and the framework, and in 1748 the choir's vaults.

Despite the World War I's bombings, we still can see beautiful medieval furniture, as for instance this famous closet (13th century): outside, panels are adorned with fine paintings on crimson background... Inside, there are angels playing music.