Auxerre - Cathedral of St Etienne

The Cathedral of St-Etienne (13th-16th C) in Auxerre, the fifth church on the site, was built on the foundations of a Romanesque cathedral, of which the crypt (11th C frescoes) survives. The north tower is 65 m/215ft high. The west front, which was richly decorated with sculpture, was destroyed during the 16th C wars of religion; the sculpture on the three doorways dates from the 13th C. The interior is very fine, with short transepts, a choir with a semicircular apse, a beautiful ambulatory (13th C triforium), richly carved capitals and fine 13th C stained glass in the ambulatory. In the cathedral treasury are liturgical utensils, reliquaries with Limoges enamel decoration, ivory statuettes and manuscripts.