Day 8 – Lausanne (2) : Cathédrale Notre-Dame

We traveled to Lausanne on a very warm Tuesday (12 July 2011).  After lunch we visited the Lausanne's Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame).  The construction of this beautiful gothic cathedral began in 1175 and it was consecrated in 1275. 

We entered the cathedral through the Montfalcon Portal.  The doorway is named after a 16th century bishop and is decorated with sculptures of biblical figures, saints, bishops and other creatures.
Montfalcon Portal
Montfalcon Portal
We walked down the nave with wonderful columns.  The Apse ceiling in the east end with the stained glass windows was beautiful.  The pulpit from 1666 is attached to one of the columns in the nave.  The cathedral has a beautiful big organ.
Nave

Columns
Pulpit
Apse ceiling and high altar
We went to the south portal known as the Portail Peint or Painted Portal.  It was built between 1225 and 1235 by Jean Cotereel.  The portal was the main entrance until the Montfalcon portal was built in 1515-1517.  The west side shows prophets and precursors of Christ. The north side is decorated with three scenes glorifying the Virgin. The south has ancestors of Christ while the east side shows individuals spreading the word of Christ.
Painted Portal - North Side
Painted Portal - East Side
The Rose window has beautiful stain glass windows with images representing the four seasons, four elements, four winds, four rivers of paradise, and the signs of the zodiac. 
Rose Window
The cathedral was beautiful but after walking through we were tired.  It was a very warm and humid day.  We went to sit on a bench to rest and drank some more cold water from the fountain before walking further.
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eyewitness Travel Guides – A Book Review

Image
  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Trave...
Read more

Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê

Image
   Weather vane on the VGK Church in Carnarvon    This photo made me think of a song we used to sing as kids.    It is a traditional Afrikaans song about the rooster on top of the church. The words of the song and its translation: Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Daar’s ‘n hoender wat ‘n eier nie kan lê There is a chicken that cannot lay an egg Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower Dis die haan, Dis die haan It’s the rooster, It’s the rooster Dis die haan wat op die kerktoring staan It’s the rooster standing on the church tower More about all the churches and other buildings we saw in Carnarvon in the next post.
Read more

Dutch Reformed Mother Church, George

Image
One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days t...
Read more