Continuing on from my Day 6 post, where we visited the abbey and windmill near Watten in Pas de Calais France on the morning of day 6, we drove south from Watten to visit the town of Saint-Omer.
Situated in the Pas de Calais region of France, Saint-Omer is named after Saint Audomar who first bought Christianity to the area.
The Town hall is situated in a large square and is home to a theatre, picture gallery and record collection. The square is surrounded by cafe’s and bars, it was in one of these we stopped for a very enjoyable lunch. We were persuaded by the girls to follow this lunch with cakes from the local boulangerie, also to be found on the square.
Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The main landmark feature in the town though is not its town hall and square but its cathedral.
The Notre Dame cathedral (cathedral of Our Lady) is a classic example of gothic architecture of the 13th, 14th and early 15th centuries.
Built from local limestone the building shines in the sunlight.
The inside of the cathedral is just as stunning as the exterior.
The nave above, and the beautiful arches forming a gracious aisle down the edge of the cathedral interior.
The high Clerestory windows were all beautiful stained glass.
As were all the windows and they were quite exquisite.
Everywhere we looked care and attention had been put into the construction of the building. A marvel when you think that they had no mechanical machines to help them construct it, just master craftsmen and a lot of hard work. The detail was evident in everything including the myriad of carvings all around the building….
on door panels and indeed on the whole of the pulpit.
The piece de resistance of the cathedral though must be the ornate organ.
It stands floor to ceiling, intricately carved with gold and coloured inlays. Truly a work of art I’m sure you will agree.
It had been a really nice day out, exploring the surrounding towns and villages and seeing what they had to offer.
We rounded the day off back at the cottage, with a couple of family games and a DVD, Avatar I think It was. A really great film at the end of a really great day.
Technorati Tags: France,Watten,Saint,Omer,Audomar,Picture,cathedral,Notre,Dame,architecture,aisle,Clerestory,glass,pulpit,organ,Avatar
2 comments:
Wow. Those are some really stunning photos! :) I personally love the first and last photo.
Exquisite art works! I am stunned thinking of all the time spent on these masterpieces and every detail was treated like one. I think I need to go back to school..... I especially love the shot looking up at the outside of the cathedral.
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