Noyon Cathedral

That evening after leaving Amiens, we went to Noyon Aisne and then returned to where we were camping. We had read a bit about this small town (home to Calvin) and its cathedral, but we never imagined we would find ourselves in front of first Gothic cathedral (early Gothic) in northern France. The present cathedral replaced a Romanesque one destroyed by fire in 1131 and which was by Charlemagne and Hugh Capet. Its construction started in 1145 and lasted until 1235, although it was subsequently adding elements such as the side chapels in the XIV and XV. During the French Revolution and the First World War, the cathedral was badly damaged and restored in the 2nd half of the 20th century.