Tournai Cathedral

Our Lady of Tournai Notre-Dame de Tournai Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik
View of the five Romanesque towers of the Cathedral of Tournai (12th century)
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Diocese of Tournai
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Leadership	Bishop Guy Harpigny
Location
Location	Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium
Geographic coordinates	50°36′23.58″N 3°23′19.89″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Building: unknown Sacristy: G. Hersecap Holy Spirit chapel: Simon Vollant
Type	Church
Style	Romanesque, Gothic, French Baroque
Groundbreaking	Nave: 1140 and 1171 Transepts: 1199–1213 Transept vaults: 1243–1255 Gothic choir:1243–1255 Sacristy: 1676 Holy Spirit chapel: 1680
Completed	1700
Specifications
Direction of façade	NW
Length	134 metres (440 ft)
Width	60 metres (200 ft)
Width (nave)	20 metres (66 ft)
Height (max)	83 metres (272 ft)
Spire(s)	5 (7 planned)
Spire height	83 metres (272 ft)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name: Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Designated	2000
Reference no.	1009
State Party	Belgium
Region	Europe and North America
Session	24th
Website
www.cathedrale-tournai.be

The Cathedral of Our Lady (French: Notre-Dame de Tournai; Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), or Tournai Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia major heritage site since 1936 and as a World Heritage Site since 2000.

History

Early history

There was a diocese centered at Tournai from the late 6th century and this structure of local blue-gray stone occupies rising ground near the south bank of the Scheldt, which divides the city of Tournai into two roughly equal parts. Begun in the 12th century on even older foundations, the building combines the work of three design periods with striking effect, the heavy and severe character of the Romanesque nave contrasting remarkably with the transitional work of the transept and the fully developed Gothic of the choir. The transept is the most distinctive part of the building, with its cluster of five bell towers and apsidal (semicircular) ends.

Southern transept and towers

The nave belongs mostly to the first third of the 12th century. Prefiguring the Early Gothic style, it has a second-tier gallery between the ground-floor arcade and the triforium. Pilasters between the round-arched windows in the clerestory help support the 18th-century vaulting that replaced the original ceiling, which was of wood, and flat.

The transept arms, built in about the mid-12th century, have apsidal ends, a feature borrowed in all probability from certain Rhenish churches, and which would appear to have made its influence felt in the north-east of France, as at Noyon and Soissons. The square towers that flank the transept arms reach a height of 83 metres (272 ft). They vary in detail, some of the arcade work with which they are enriched being in the round-arched and some in the pointed style.

West portico

Bishop Gautier de Marvis had the earlier Romanesque choir demolished in the 13th century, in order to replace it with a Gothic choir of much grander dimensions, inspired by the likes of Amiens Cathedral. The construction of the new choir began in 1242, and ended in 1255. The rest of the cathedral was supposed to be rebuilt in the same style as the choir, but this was never attempted, the only later additions being the western porch, and a large Gothic chapel which was built alongside one of the side aisles, whose original walls and windows disappeared in the process.

The rood screen is a Renaissance masterpiece by Flemish sculptor Cornelis Floris and dates from 1573.

The glass-stained windows were made by Arnold of Nijmegen and date from 1507.

Damage and restoration

The cathedral was damaged by a severe tornado on the 24 August 1999. Assessment of the damage revealed underlying structural problems and the cathedral has been undergoing extensive repairs and archaeological investigation ever since. The Brunin Tower was stabilised in 2003.

In recognition of Tournai cathedral's cultural value, UNESCO designated the building a World Heritage Site in 2000.

Specifications

Total length: 134 metres (440 ft) Towers Number: 5 Height: 83 metres (272 ft) Nave Height: 26 metres (85 ft) Length: 48 metres (157 ft) Width : 20 metres (66 ft)

Choir Height outside: 58 metres (190 ft) Height inside: 47 metres (154 ft) Width: 36 metres (118 ft) Transept Height: 48 metres (157 ft) Length: 66.5 metres (218 ft) Width : 14 metres (46 ft)

Bells

Tournai Cathedral has five bells: Marc, Marie-Nicolas, Marie-Étienne, Marie-Gasparine (also known as Marie-Pontoise by Tournaisians) and Catherine. Marie-Gasparine and Marie-Étienne are considered bourdon bells due to their deep notes. Marie-Gasparine is the largest of the five bells, it was cast in 1843 and weighs 9 tons.

Burials

• Eleutherius of Tournai
• Nicolas Gombert
• Adolf, Duke of Guelders

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view
• 
  Nave, facing toward choir
• 
  Reconstruction showing the original Romanesque choir (front) and two never-built towers (back)
• 
  Floor plan
• 
  The issue of souls in purgatory (Rubens, c. 1635)
• 
  Rose window (Benvignat and Capronier, 19th century) and pipe organ (Ducroquet, 1854)
• 
  Stained-glass windows

See also

• Roman Catholic Marian churches
• List of tallest structures built before the 20th century

References

Citations

Bibliography

• "Tournai Cathedral (Belgium)" (PDF). Evaluation by ICOMOS (Report). UNESCO. 2000. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
• Bony, Jean (1983). French Gothic architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05586-5.

External links

• Media related to Cathédrale Notre-Dame (Tournai) at Wikimedia Commons
• "Complete catalogue of images of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Tournai". Picture Library. Royal Institute for the Study and Conservation of Belgium's Artistic Heritage. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
• "Architectural images of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Tournai". Picture Library. Royal Institute for the Study and Conservation of Belgium's Artistic Heritage. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
• Tournai: Our Lady's Cathedral - from Belgium Travel Network
• Tournai Cathedral (pdf) - UNESCO site, contains detailed description and history
• Cathedral Notre-Dame - from official site of the city of Tournai