Saturday, October 17, 2015

St Stephen's Cathedral, Metz, France

Metz, France is a city in eastern France on the Moselle river, about 60 miles due west of Saarbrucken, Germany. St Stephen's Cathedral, commonly known as Metz Cathedral is located there.

Metz Cathedral is made of local yellow Jaumont limestone. Its nave is one of the highest in the world, at 135.9 feet. It has the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, 69,920 square feet. The photo below is a view of the cathedral showing the south-east side.






The cathedral was begun in 1220 and not completed until 1520, with dedication in 1522. The photos below show some of the decorative sculptures on the exterior.







The photo below is of one of the portals. I believe Christ is on the center post.




The portal shown below is the portal through which you enter the cathedral. The center post has Mary holding the infant Christ.




This is what you see on entering the nave.

The side aisles are relatively low compared to the height of the nave, which allows the clerestory to be quite large and filled with stained glass windows, as shown below.









The stained glass dates from the 13th century through and including the 20th century. There is one remaining 13th century window which I do not have a photo of. The west rose window, shown below, is from the 14th century and done by a man named Herman Munster.





The two photos below are of the two transcept windows.









The window below is 20th century by Jacques Villon.


The next window is also 20th century by Marc Chagall.





I do not know who did the windows shown in the two photos below nor do I know their age.









The last three photos are along the Moselle just a couple of blocks from the cathedral.

















2 comments:

  1. Love the photo and symbolism of 'entering the nave'...a ship, a maiden voyage, a birth, leading to the flying buttresses reaching for God through sacred geometry.

    The first shot along the Moselle - great perspective and composition.

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