Built in 1090 in Romanesque style, the cathedral has a Gothic elevation and a neo-Gothic façade.
Chalon-sur-Saône is the only city in Burgundy Franche-Comté to have preserved its entire cathedral complex: the cathedral itself, the former bishop's palace, the canons' houses and the canons' cloister, which will be reopened in 2019 after restoration.
The current cathedral was built from 1080 until the early 16th century, in the course of 7 construction campaigns, to which must be added an eighth project in the 19th century. Currently undergoing restoration, it reopened on 17 October 2025 after two years of closure to the public, and the nave, transept and choir are once again visible, while work continues on the chapels until 2027.
The first three construction projects, between 1080 and 1160, raised the first level of the choir, the transept, the lower parts of the nave and the side aisles in the purest Burgundian Romanesque style, as seen in Cluny, Autun and Paray-le-Monial. The capitals in the nave and choir, which are now dazzlingly white when they don't bear traces of polychrome, are among the finest sculpted specimens in Burgundy (which has no shortage of them!): there are similarities with works from Cluny, Autun and even Dijon, proof not only of the great mobility of sculptors at the time, but also of the crossroads of trade and expertise that Chalon-sur-Saône has always been.
From the 13th to the 16th century, the rest of the building slowly rose: first the choir, whose apse was completely rebuilt, then the walls of the nave (14th century), and finally the stone roof (15th-16th centuries). It was probably during this period that the majority of the paintings rediscovered during the 2024-2025 restoration works were created, and which have just been restored, giving the building a spectacular appearance. The chapels adjoining the nave, private places of worship, were gradually built in the 15th and 16th centuries by families or brotherhoods; they were later restored.
Sacked during the Wars of Religion, restored, then looted and desecrated again during the French Revolution, the building was seriously threatened by the destruction of its façade, which was sold stone by stone shortly before the Concordat (1801). It underwent a revival between 1822 and 1865, first with the construction of a neo-Gothic façade, one of the first in France (1822-1845), then with the "embellishment" of the interior in the 1860s, under the impetus of a priest, Abbé Gardette: Paintings, stained glass windows and liturgical furnishings were all created for the cathedral, and some elements are still clearly visible today, reminding us of the artistic interest of this period that is all too often disparaged, such as the mural under the crucifixion in the nave, the rose in the façade, and the stained glass windows preserved in the lower part of the choir.
Although a campaign to create contemporary stained glass windows began in 1945 to replace those destroyed in an explosion at the station in 1944, no other large-scale work had been carried out in the building before the current major restoration campaign, due to begin in 2024. Visitors entering the building today are in for a real treat...
We invite visitors to consult the "Saint Vincent's Cathedral: work in progress" focus, available here.
The current cathedral was built from 1080 until the early 16th century, in the course of 7 construction campaigns, to which must be added an eighth project in the 19th century. Currently undergoing restoration, it reopened on 17 October 2025 after two years of closure to the public, and the nave, transept and choir are once again visible, while work continues on the chapels until 2027.
The first three construction projects, between 1080 and 1160, raised the first level of the choir, the transept, the lower parts of the nave and the side aisles in the purest Burgundian Romanesque style, as seen in Cluny, Autun and Paray-le-Monial. The capitals in the nave and choir, which are now dazzlingly white when they don't bear traces of polychrome, are among the finest sculpted specimens in Burgundy (which has no shortage of them!): there are similarities with works from Cluny, Autun and even Dijon, proof not only of the great mobility of sculptors at the time, but also of the crossroads of trade and expertise that Chalon-sur-Saône has always been.
From the 13th to the 16th century, the rest of the building slowly rose: first the choir, whose apse was completely rebuilt, then the walls of the nave (14th century), and finally the stone roof (15th-16th centuries). It was probably during this period that the majority of the paintings rediscovered during the 2024-2025 restoration works were created, and which have just been restored, giving the building a spectacular appearance. The chapels adjoining the nave, private places of worship, were gradually built in the 15th and 16th centuries by families or brotherhoods; they were later restored.
Sacked during the Wars of Religion, restored, then looted and desecrated again during the French Revolution, the building was seriously threatened by the destruction of its façade, which was sold stone by stone shortly before the Concordat (1801). It underwent a revival between 1822 and 1865, first with the construction of a neo-Gothic façade, one of the first in France (1822-1845), then with the "embellishment" of the interior in the 1860s, under the impetus of a priest, Abbé Gardette: Paintings, stained glass windows and liturgical furnishings were all created for the cathedral, and some elements are still clearly visible today, reminding us of the artistic interest of this period that is all too often disparaged, such as the mural under the crucifixion in the nave, the rose in the façade, and the stained glass windows preserved in the lower part of the choir.
Although a campaign to create contemporary stained glass windows began in 1945 to replace those destroyed in an explosion at the station in 1944, no other large-scale work had been carried out in the building before the current major restoration campaign, due to begin in 2024. Visitors entering the building today are in for a real treat...
We invite visitors to consult the "Saint Vincent's Cathedral: work in progress" focus, available here.
Openings
Openings
From 17 October 2025 until 31 December 2025 -
Location
Location
Contact Cathédrale Saint-Vincent
