Sepia Saturday: Bayeux Cathedral
Bayeux is a French city in the Calvados region of Normandy. It sits on the Aure River, a few miles before it empties into the English channel and occupies the site of Augustodurum, an ancient Roman town. It was thus near the site of the D-Day Invasion by Allied forces in the Second World War and was the first city to be liberated from German occupation. In this Photochrom print, however, the city is shown as it was around 1910. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux is said to be the oldest cathedral in Normandy. The current structure -- or at least the parts of it that have endured -- was consecrated July 14, 1077. Built by the family of Duke William of Normandy, it replaced an earlier church dating from the Merovingian era. Thirty years later, fire destroyed all but the two towers. It was rebuilt then and again after other misfortunes. Each time, some o f the earlier elements were incorporated into redesigns, so features characteristic of several arch...