Built from 1150 and completed at the end of the century, Saint-Mammès cathedral was the cathedral of a vast diocese located between Champagne and Burgundy.
It was the last major building to follow in the footsteps of the Romanesque abbey church of Cluny, built at the end of the 11th century. Situated at the crossroads of various artistic influences, Saint-Mammès cathedral harmoniously combines Romanesque decoration and volumes with early Gothic innovations. The use of rib vaulting, an innovation in the region, gave the nave greater width and light than in other Cluniac buildings.
Rebuilt in 1768, the imposing neo-classical facade is composed of two towers framing a forecourt topped by a pediment. The pediment is topped by two monumental statues representing the Synagogue (left) and the Church (right). Each of the three levels is punctuated by Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns or pilasters. During the Revolution, certain decorative elements were diverted from their original symbol. For example, above the north portal (left), the bishop's mitre and crozier were transformed into a Phrygian cap and a lictor's bundle.
During your visit, let yourself be charmed by the gleaming 19th-century glazed tile roof, Renaissance works such as the Amoncourt chapel with its earthenware floor, the bas-relief of the relics and the tapestries of Saint-Mammès, and the 18th-century great organ...
Groups: All year round on request.
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Summer activities: from 17 July to 21 August, organ auditions on Sundays at 5pm, organised by the Ass. des Amis des Orgues.
A little history:
The legend of Saint Mammès tells how he became the patron saint of the cathedral and the diocese in place of Saint John the Evangelist.
Around 755, a pilgrim brought back a bone from the neck of Saint Mammès from Constantinople. Near Langres, he wanted to rest and hung the bag containing the relics from a branch. When he wanted to take it back, he couldn't get it off the tree...
He went to see Bishop Vandier and told him of the miracle; the prelate, accompanied by his clergy and many of the faithful, went to the site. Despite his efforts, the relics refused to come down "even though they were held together by a simple silk cord".
It was then that a venerable old man approached the bishop and suggested that he dedicate the cathedral to Saint Mammès, claiming that Saint John the Evangelist would not find it "wrong to honour in his place his beloved son whom he had begotten to the Lord by the word of his preaching".
The prelate acted on this advice and immediately dedicated his church to this saint.
The ceremony was barely over when the relics fell of their own accord and were brought back to Langres in a solemn procession.
The old man was none other than Saint John the Evangelist himself...
Cathédrale Saint-Mammès
