AMIENS CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, in French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 km north of Paris.
It is the tallest complete cathedral in France. Its stone-vaulted nave reaching a height of 42.30 metres (138.8 ft.), only surpassed by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral. It has the greatest interior volume of any French cathedral, estimated at 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd.).
The cathedral was built between 1220 and c.1270. Although it has lost most of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the quality and quantity of early 13th century Gothic sculpture in the main west facade and the south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the building.
The initial impetus for the building of the cathedral came from the installation of the reputed head of John the Baptist on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade, which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to sacking the great Christian city of Constantinople. A sumptuous reliquary was made to house the skull. Although later lost, a 19th century replica still provides a focus for prayer and meditation in the North aisle.
The Amiens cathedral was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1981.
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