Marseille Cathedral
The Cathedral of Marseille ( Cathédrale Sainte -Marie -Majeure de Marseille, mostly Cathédrale de la Major ) is the bishop's church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Marseille in the French city of Marseille. Built in 1852 in Neo-Romanesque - Byzantine monumental temple stands on the western edge of the old town above the Quai de la Joliette. It was designed by Léon Vaudoyer and Henri -Jacques Espérandieu. At its completion in 1896 it was awarded the title of Minor Basilica.
Vieille major
There was already Cathedral at the turn of the 4th to 5th century bishop geostete a church with a baptistery - At the site of the present - facing North. The foundations of the system were excavated during the construction of the Nouvelle Major. The church was originally the patronal feast of St. Lazarus, but is mentioned only as Mary's Church since the time of Charlemagne. It was at three Sarazeneneinfällen, most recently in 923, destroyed and then restored. Nevertheless, it was in the time of Bishop Pons II so dilapidated that this still in the year of his death in 1073 took a completely new attack.
This Romanesque cathedral of the 11th century was a three-aisled basilica on a rectangular ground plan, in which a main and two side apses were included. She had originally five Longhouse yokes. The two west with the main gate were demolished in the High Middle Ages, to make room for a new fortification, possibly because the surf had broken off a piece of the shore. The portal has been moved to the south side of the nave. It was followed by the attachment of several chapels and sacristy. The choir is flanked by two square towers, one of which is preserved in the form of the 19th century, southern, called tour de l' Évêché.
During the French Revolution the Diocese of Marseille was canceled, the Cathedral demoted to the parish church and later closed at times. The bells were melted down, destroyed the sculptures, sold the historic facility. The building suffered severe damage, which is still partially reinforced with conservation measures of the early 19th century. 1823 provisionally restored Vieille Major became bishop church. 1852 visited Napoleon III. Marseille. Prompted by Bishop Eugene de Mazenod he laid the foundation stone of the new building symbolically. To win on this course, two other western yoke of the Roman church and some of the attachments were removed and saved the rest. On the ocean side is a large terrace with arched substructures was created for foundations. Then the new cathedral was built and equipped, their costs exceeded the original plans far and its mosaic decoration was never completed in four decades.
Nouvelle major
Exterior
Today's Saint Mary's Cathedral of Marseille is a three-nave gallery Basilica of 141 m in length with a 50 m wide transept and a servatives -dome of 60 m height. The transepts and chancel are elongated handling domes. They mainly produce the Byzantine overall impression. The apse is surrounded by a ring of chapels. At the apex of the apse of St. Mary's Chapel is added to the grave in 1995 canonized Bishop Mazenod; also carries a dome. The choir will be accompanied by the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Lazarus Chapel. The west building - geographically in the south - is designed as a portal bolts with a high central arch, two patch, kuppelhaubenbekrönten bell towers and rich sculptural decoration. Distinctive design elements of the overall construction are the strip-wise alternation of light and dark stone and the combination of arches with triangular gable roofs.
Interior decoration
The interior also gets its effect by byzantinisierenden domes and arches and by the color change of the stone layers. In the three supported by massive pillars zygomatic arches of the nave galleries are collected, which are supported by two slender columns. Choir and Vierungsbereich are equipped with figural and ornamental mosaics. The rest of the architectural decoration is rather sparse; he fell short of forecasts. In main viewing direction is the large neo-Romanesque Altarziborium with the original high altar. Previously located in the chancel arch, the post-conciliar altar island. The effectively placed sculptures in the main room and in the chapels are quality works of the late 19th century.
Organ
The organ was built in 1931 by the organ builders Michel Merklin and Kuhn, and most recently in 2001 revised by the organ builder Lestrez. The instrument has 61 registers on three manuals and pedal. The tracker action are electric.
- Pairing: Normal Couplers: II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P III / P
- Suboktavkoppeln: I / I, II / I, II / II, III / I, III / II, III / III
- Superoktavkoppeln: I / I, II / I, II / II, III / I, III / II, III / III, I / P, II / P III / P