The present Notre-Dame de Laon cathedral is the heir to an ancient building, built under the Carolingians and destroyed during the communal insurrection of 1112. In the middle of the 17th century, a time of economic and urban expansion, the construction of what will remain one of the most beautiful examples of so-called primitive Gothic began…
Indeed, the new construction gives pride of place to light, with its four-level elevation (arcades, tribune, triforium, high windows), its large roses, luminosity that is enhanced by the use of limestone for its construction.
Completed around 1235, the cathedral underwent a major restoration in the 19th century, and again in the 2000s. Note that since September 3, 2021, the building has been home to a “Blueberry of Memory” (a work of art by artist Matt Seaward) offered by the Bishop of Durham (UK) in memory of the soldiers who fell in the First World War.
For its opening hours, the cathedral is open every day from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm and can be visited freely…