St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège

The Lambertus Cathedral (real name: Cathédrale Notre -Dame- et -Saint -Lambert ) was the cathedral of Liege until 1794, the year in which began their destruction. The Bishop Lambert of Maastricht consecrated huge Gothic cathedral stood at today's Place Saint -Lambert in the city center. With two choirs, two transepts, three naves, the ring of chapels, its cloister together with the annexes and the 135 meter high tower was Notre -Dame- et -Saint -Lambert, the church with the largest interior in the Middle Ages in the West: it offered 4000 people place.

History

Bishop Lambert of Maastricht was murdered in 705 in Liege. He was buried in Maastricht, but then, as the site of his assassination the goal of pilgrims, was reburied by his successor, Hubertus from Liege to Liege. A little later the bishop's seat was moved from Maastricht to Liege. In April 714 the Younger was slain from the family of Arnulf Inger Lambertus in the Cathedral of the house Meier Grimoald.

Built by Hubertus mausoleum was designed unusually to the west, and then the alignment of the choir to the west is also due at the Folgebauten. The first of these buildings dates from the late 8th century Carolingian style and pointed to.

In the year 978 installed bishop of Liege Notger a cathedral chapter with 60 canons, in the year 1000 he began the construction of a new church in the Ottonian style with a crypt for the relics of the saint. The new cathedral had a massive west front, two choirs at the opposite end, two transepts, with a tower over the crossing. A cloister added to the church. The inputs to the church were at the north and south sides and not to the longitudinal axis of the building. In the years 1140-1180 a number of modifications to the cathedral was made.

Jan van Eyck, The Virgin in the Church ( 1425, Gemäldegalerie Berlin ) - the background is a detail of the choir of the Cathedral

The excommunicated Emperor Henry IV, who died in Liege on August 7, 1106 got his first resting place in the cathedral. Following representations by the bishops of the body was brought out of his grave, and in yet unconsecrated chapel outside the city in Cornelio monte sita (now Cornillon, a district of Liege ) buried in unconsecrated ground. Henry V sat a little later on the decision of the princes away, leaving the corpse on August 24, again get out of the ground and first then transfer to Liege, to Speyer.

On the night of 28th to April 29th, 1185 a fire broke out near the cathedral, jumped over to the cloister and the church building, destroying both. The immediately after starting reconstruction based on the old foundations made ​​in the Gothic style and has already led to the 1189 consecration of the at least partially restored Church by Philip of Heinberg, the Archbishop of Cologne. 1197 could be brought into the cathedral which Lambertus relics that had been brought to safety before the fire, again.

Lack of capital handicapped as a consequence the completion of construction. Processions were held throughout the diocese to raise the money. Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254) promised each vent that helped to rebuild. 1391 began construction of the 135 meter high tower, its completion in 1431 also made the end of the larger work on the cathedral dar.

The cathedral was 96 meters long, the entire system including the monastery even 173 meters, and with the lateral chapels 37 meters wide. The interior was about 30 meters high. From the style, not in terms of size, it was comparable to Notre- Dame de Paris. The two sandstone towers on the west facade similar to those of the Cathedral in Brussels, the Church of Our Lady in Breda and in Tongeren.

Blaeu, Liege, detail

Remacle Le Loup, Lambertus Cathedral, 1735

Cathedral and Palais, 18th Century

Reconstruction drawing for 1770

Cathedral 1780

Reconstruction model ( Grand Curtius, Liège )

Destruction

1794, during the French Revolution, the demolition of the cathedral was begun, as the cathedral was the symbol of the reign of the Prince-Bishop of Liège revolutionaries. Under the supervision of a "Commission de la Cathédrale destructive " the lead roofs were covered (the metal was needed by the military ), in 1795 began the demolition of the great tower, 1803, the two towers were destroyed on the facade. 1827 the entire plant was almost leveled only exception was the Bauhütte between Cathedral and Bishop's Palace, which remained standing until 1929.

After the waning of the Revolution, the population searched for a replacement and opted for the collegiate church of Saint -Paul church than that which was closest to the city center. Today it is the cathedral of Liege ( Cathédrale Saint -Paul ).

Jean -Noël Chevron, ruins of the cathedral ( arcades )

Jean -Noël Chevron, ruins of the Cathedral (choir )

Jean -Auguste -Dominique Ingres, " Bonaparte, Premier Consul" (1804, Grand Curtius, Liège ) - in the background the intact cathedral, which was largely destroyed in 1804 already