Laon Cathedral

Laon Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon) is a Catholic church located in Laon, Picardy, France. It is one of the most important examples of the Gothic architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries, dating earlier than the cathedrals of Sens and Notre Dame of Paris and ranking with them in importance. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Laon. It has been listed among the Monuments Historiques since 1840.

The current cathedral is built on the site of an earlier edifice commenced under the episcopacy of Gerfrid (774 - 800). That Carolingian cathedral was consecrated on 6 September 800 in the presence of the emperor himself.

The Carolingian building was replaced under Bishop Élinand (1052–1095). The present new building was inaugurated with the second coronation of the future King Philip I. This cathedral was torched during the Easter Insurrection on 25 April 1112. During the revolt Laon's unpopular Bishop Waldric (in French Gaudry) was killed, despite taking the precaution of hiding in a barrel in the cellar of the episcopal palace. The cathedral was not destroyed, however, and after a repair programme lasting two years it was rededicated in 1114 under .

The present Laon Cathedral dates from the 12th and early 13th centuries, an early example of the Gothic style that originated in Northern France. Built half a century after the first example of Gothic architecture, the Abbey Church of St. Denis, was erected. The former cathedral was burned out and damaged during the communal insurrection in 1112, then occasioned by the revocation of the commune's charter. The present reconstruction began with a choir in about 1160 and was finished as far as the east side of the transept by 1174. In a second campaign, which started about 1180, the nave was built, and completed after 1205. Then the choir was replaced by the greatly lengthened present choir in 1215.

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