Saint-Etienne Cathedral

You’re standing in front of Saint-Étienne Cathedral, one of the most iconic monuments in Toulouse! Iconic and yet atypical! Its exterior, constantly reworked since the 13th century in an effort to rival the grandiose Saint-Sernin basilica, gives it an unconventional, somewhat unfinished look. You’d have to see the plans, or at least see it from above, to get a better idea. It exhibits a sort of disharmony, resulting from the fusion of two construction methods: a Raymondine Nave built in a Southern European Gothic style, merged with a Meridional Gothic choir, thus giving the impression that a section is missing! What actually happened was that in the 13th century, after Toulouse was attached to the French crown, plans were made to build a huge Rayonnant Gothic choir, as in  île de France region. The idea was to build a new cathedral that would rival the greatest ones in Europe, by gradually demolishing the old structure as the work progressed. However, without going into the specifics of how dioceses and archdioceses are organized, it’s important to understand that there was no longer sufficient funding allocated to this construction, so they had to somehow try to attach the existing nave to the choir. Given the circumstances, they managed quite well! Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, several ambitious architects undertook projects to restore the cathedral to its intended glory, yet all efforts eventually fell by the wayside. Frankly, all the better. Why should everything always be straight and symmetrical? Beauty lies in differences, and Saint-Etienne’s cathedral, with its originality, tells a story that might have been lost to time.