All year long
Its treasures, its clock…The cathedral took a long time to build: the major part dates from the thirteenth century, but significant changes were made in the eighteenth century. Like the cathedrals of Nevers and Verdun, Saint-Jean has the unusual feature of two opposing choirs, linked by a nave boarded by chapels on the north side. The thirteenth-century nave vault marries Champagne and Burgundy influences.What makes the cathedral even more remarkable is the works of art that it contains, particularly the fourth-century baptismal fonts, a Pieta by Conrad Meyt from 1532, and a painting depicting Virgin and Child with Saints by Fra Bartolommeo.Plus the treasury (not open to visitors) contains a number of fine pieces of goldsmithing and the bell tower houses the famous nineteenth-century astronomical clock. The masterpiece comprises 30,000 mechanisms that control seventy sundials. The clock is decorated with several animated figures. The apse, which was built and decorated in the Rococo style in the eighteenth century, is decorated with paintings by Natoire and Van Loo.
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