NOTRE-DAME-DE-L'ASSOMPTION CATHEDRAL
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Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption cathedral, with medieval and contemporary stained glass windows and 2 neo-Gothic spires 96 m high.
The Gothic cathedral is one of the first buildings constructed in Volvic stone. It followed three other sanctuaries built between the5th and 10thcenturies . In the 13th century, Bishop Hugues de la Tour wished to build a new cathedral, fully inspired by the Gothic style of the northern Loire region, and Île-de-France in particular. Work began in 1248, while the old Romanesque cathedral was still standing, and continued from the choir to the nave, in successive sections that gradually replaced the pre-existing Romanesque parts of the cathedral. Work was halted in the 14th century. What remained was a Romanesque façade similar to that of Notre-Dame-du-Port. At the end of the 15th century, Jacques d'Amboise wanted to build a flamboyant Gothic façade, but lack of funds prevented him from doing so. Major construction work would not resume until 500 years after the completion of the medieval site. Based on plans by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, bays were added to the nave, and the façade was covered by two 96-metre-high neo-Gothic spires. From Jean Deschamps to Viollet-le-Duc, architects succeeded one another between the 13th and 19th centuries to perfect the cathedral, overcoming financial constraints and historical hazards. Its medieval and contemporary stained glass windows trace a veritable history of the art of stained glass. Its slender silhouette towers over the hillside of Clermont-Ferrand. Climbing the Bayette tower has been forbidden since 2018.
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