The Butter Tower and the history of Bourges Cathedral

The north tower of the Bourges Cathedral had foundations that were still faulty after completion. It collapsed on December 31, 1506. To raise funds for its reconstruction, Archbishop Guillaume de Cambrai offered dispensations to eat butter during Lent in exchange for contributions to the tower fund. The tower was repaired between 1508 and 1524, and thereafter was nicknamed the Butter Tower.

Construction began at about the same time as Chartres Cathedral, but the basic plan was different. While Chartres and other High Gothic cathedrals had collateral aisles the same height as the nave, at Bourges the collateral aisles rose in steps from the outside aisle to the centre. Work on the nave was finished by 1235, and the cathedral was complete enough by 1225 to host a large council condemning the heresy of Catharism.

The cathedral contains a large collection of 13th-century stained glass windows and a structure that reflects different historical periods. Between 1406 and 1491, eleven new chapels were built along the flanks of the cathedral between the buttresses. These were decorated in the more ornate late Gothic style, which was somewhat out of harmony with the classical High Gothic of the earlier structure.

You can visit the cathedral at place Étienne-Dolet to explore the interior and view the 13th-century windows. Visitors can also take a tour of the tower and the crypt, where vestiges of the earlier buildings can be found under the present cathedral.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons