Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II's wedding in Lisieux cathédral
And also
The tops
A terrible bombing in 1944 destroyed almost everything in Lisieux... except the Gothic cathedral Saint-Pierre, a rare remain (the oldest Gothic building in Normandy)!
In 1034, bishop Herbert demolished Gallo-Roman walls of the antic city called Lexovium, in order to extend the old cathedral. Building works were finished by his successor Hugues of Eu. But count of Anjou Geoffroy Plantagenet burnt it...
His son would be the future king of England Henri II, who would found the famous dynasty of British Plantagenet! By the way, marriage of Henri II Plantagenet with Eleanor of Aquitaine took place in our cathedral…
One day of May 18th 1152, 2 months after the cancellation of Eleanor’s marriage with Louis VII of France in Beaugency abbey (Loiret)...
Eleanor re-married Henri II, and she became duchess of Normandy, then… queen of England.
After that, the church was rebuilt in 1136 by bishop Arnould: the nave, the transept and the choir were finished in 1181.