Auxerre Cathedral 3.26

Auxerre Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Auxerre, Burgundy, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Stephen, and is known for its large stained glass windows.Most of the Burgundian Gothic cathedral was built between 1215 and 1233 above an 11th-century crypt. Construction continued until the 1540s when the cupola, in Renaissance style that takes the place of one pinnacle on the completed tower, was completed. The first building campaign erected the chevet at the liturgical east end, followed later in the century by a new façade and the bases of new towers at the west end . Construction on the nave and transepts proceeded slowly throughout the 14th and 15th centuries.The narrative sculptural program of the portals on the west end are noted for their extent and variety. Guillaume de Seignelay, bishop of Auxerre decided to undertake the reconstruction of the older edifice about 1215, to which he set an example by contributing heavily and consistently from his own resources, and even bequeathed funds after his transfer to the see of Paris in 1220. The chevet was completed by his successor, Henri de Villeneuve ; he left 1000 livres for the project, but construction slowed after his death, hampered by a dearth of funds.