Tours Cathedral 3.3

Saint Gatien's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Indre-et-Loire, France. It is part of the Archdiocese of Tours and is the metropolitan cathedral of the Tours ecclesiastical province. The edifice was built between 1170 and 1547. At the time construction began, the church was located at the south end of the bridge over the Loire, on the road from Paris to the south-west of France. It has been a classified monument historique since 1862.EvolutionHistoryThe first cathedral of Saint-Maurice was built by Lidoire, Bishop of Tours from 337 to 371 (preceding St Martin). Burnt in 561, it was restored by Gregory of Tours and rededicated in 590. Its location, at the south-west angle of the castrum, as well as its eastern orientation, resulted in the original access being through the late-Roman surrounding wall (such a configuration is quite rare).The cathedral was then rebuilt during the second quarter of the 12th century and again burnt in 1166 during the conflict between Louis VII of France and Henry II of England (also count of Anjou, the neighboring region).