Notre Dame Amiens: Largest Cathedral in France

The Bishop of Amiens, Bishop Edward desired to have the biggest cathedral of France and the result was this Amiens Cathedral, 138 feet high. This cathedral is addressed as ‘she’ and not ‘it’, so graceful she is!

Facade Details of Notre Dame Amiens

The facade of this cathedral is grand and impressive. Stones used in the cathedral’s construction all came from the great quarries of Picquigny. They were transported across the Somme River to Amiens by boat.

Observe the 3 elevation levels in the facade, with doors in the bottom level, the one in the right is the Saint Firmin Portal and Portal of the Virgin in the left.

Just over the triforium is a long Gallery of Kings, then a series of twin arcades, and finally a rose window.

Do read: Stories on Central Door Arch of Amiens Cathedral

There are 22 statues in the Gallery of Kings, silently watching all that has been going on for centuries. At the top level are two towers, the towers lack size as they were the last parts of the structure to be built and had a lack of financial means for their elevation.

There are spiral staircases that take you to top. I missed going to top as I spent too much time admiring the interior.

History of Notre Dame of Amiens

Prior to this modern day Notre Dame of Amiens a Roman style cathedral existed at the same place. It got burned down in 1218. Construction of this beautiful Gothic masterpiece began in 1220 and took 50 years to complete.

She was built on the model of Chartres Cathedral but couldn’t match its magnificent stained glass windows. There were some precious stained glass windows in Amiens cathedral too which were removed and stored for safekeeping in a warehouse of a Parisian glass worker. Unfortunately they got destroyed in a fire.

Amiens Cathedral Interesting Facts

• One of the largest ‘classic’ Gothic churches of the 13th century
• Brilliant feat of medieval engineering with crude technologies available at that time
• The original structure was on verge of collapsing due to wrong placement of buttresses
• To avert future danger of collapse a second row of buttresses was added.
• An iron girdle was installed to peg the columns in place and prevent pillars from collapsing.
• It is said: at the time of installation, the iron chain was red hot, and it tightened as it cooled, acting as a cinch.
• Luckily during both World War I and World War II the Cathedral didn’t get bombed
• Amiens’ Cathedral exceeds in size Notre Dame of Paris
• In 1981 Amiens Cathedral was included in UNESCO heritage list.

Magnificent Sanctuary of the Cathedral

Amiens Cathedral Interior

The interior of Amiens cathedral is not so elaborately decorated like its exteriors, yet it has a simple charm of its own.

Astounding Dimensions of this Largest Cathedral of France

• The interior length is 438 feet (133.5 metres)
• Soaring nave reaches an elevation of 139 feet (42.3 metres) at the apex of the vault
• and it is 48 feet (14.6 metres) wide.

One can easily feel negligible in this huge interiors! Following are some pictures from interiors; hope you will like the virtual tour.

Nave looking west.

Sculptures and Stained Glass windows

Amiens Cathedral is studded with several sculptures, wooden and marble statues, and lovely stained glass windows. This is one of the reasons why this largest cathedral of France is included in UNESCO World Heritage list.

Sculptures choir screen Amiens Cathedral France – Polychrome paintings and sculptures dedicated to the martyrdom of St Fermin, 1490-1532. He was the Bishop of Amiens in the 3rd century.

John the Baptist acclaims Jesus Christ. Part of a 16th century poly chrome sequence in Amiens cathedral.

Joan of Arc: There is a beautiful statue of Joan of Arc which stopped us on our tracks! The Chancellor of the Cathedral gave Jeanne her last Sacrament prior to the day she was burnt at the stake. We saw a magnificent statue of her, Joan of Arc, in Orleans too.

Here –> Grand Statue of Joan of Arc in Orleans France

Joan of Arc statue in Amiens Cathedral

Weeping Angel in Amiens Cathedral: Picture of The Weeping Angel of Amiens Cathedral in France. The pink tinge is due to light filtering in through stained glass windows. The angel’s left hand is on an hourglass symbolising the brevity of life. His right elbow rests on a skull, symbol of death.

Weeping angel statue in Amiens Cathedral

Altars and Chapels

Inside the cathedral there are several altars and chapels, just like there are smaller shrines inside huge Hindu temples. No wonder why Amiens Cathedral is largest in France. I have here 2 of them:

Le Pilier Vert – the Green Pillar. This was made in 1634 by Nicholas Blasset. It is dedicated to martyrdom of St Sebastian. He is revered as the protector against plagues. Statue of St Sebastian at the top is depicted as body riddled with arrows. That is the painting of Calvary at the base made in 18^th century.

St Sebastian Altar Amiens Cathedral

Notre Dame du Pilier Rouge: The statues of Notre-Dame-du-Puy, David, Salomon and Judith are all also by Nicolas Blasset. And the painting is that of the Assumption is by François Francken le Jeune.

Le Pilier Rouge

Other Sights and Activities in Amiens

Light Show on Western Facade: If you are there in Amiens for a day you can include the magical light show which brings back the statues back to life dressed in medieval colors.

Amiens Christmas Markets: They are very popular. So if you are there in winters you can include a visit to Amiens markets in your itinerary for Amiens.

Amiens Belfry: A little away from the cathedral is the Amiens Belfry which is inscribed in UNESCO Heritage list: Belfries of Belgium and France. It is made of a plain square base with a bell tower at the top.

Amiens Belfry

Location and How to reach Amiens

Amiens is 161 km north of Paris. It takes about an hour and a half from Paris by road. From Brussels it takes 2 hours and from London it takes 4 hours.  It is well connected by road and rail from other cities of France too. Amiens is a perfect weekend destination from Paris. Yet another nearby international airport is Tille (50 min), Beauvais International Airport.

Timings for the Cathedral

Cathedral is open to tourists from 8.30am to 5.15pm in summer and it is free to visit. However the cathedral is not open at night before or after the light show.

Amiens Cathedral night show timings vary according to day light hours. It is shown from 15^th June to 3^rd Sunday of September. During the city’s Christmas season the light show starts at 7pm.

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