The Cathedral of St. Andrew

Rougequeue à front blanc
Léo Drouyn. Cathédrale de Bx. 1891. Musée des beaux-arts. Bx E 887
© Mairie de Bordeaux, cliché Lysiane Gauthier

The Cathedral of St. Andrew was one of the first Gothic buildings in Aquitaine. The first building is known to be from the 5th or 6th century. A Church of St. Andrew was destroyed during the Norman invasions of the 9th century. A new building was consecrated by Pope Urban II. It was in this church that Eleanor of Aquitaine, married Louis VII, son of the King of France. In 2003, archaeological excavations revealed the remains of a porch tower contemporary with this royal wedding. The 13th century was a period of intense work, brought to a halt by the Hundred Years War. Several royal weddings were celebrated in the Cathedral. In October 1614, Elisabeth, daughter of Henry IV and sister of Louis XIII, married, by proxy, the Infante of Spain, the future Philippe IV. Then, on December 8th, the wedding of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria took place.

During the following century the Cathedral was damaged several times by storms. In 1787, the carelessness of a roofer started a fire that consumed the structure of the choir. During the French Revolution it became the Town Hall, then a feed store. Only the Royal Portal, protected by the houses leaning up against the northern wall, escaped the destruction. In the 19th century, several architects restored the building. In the 1860s, the architect Abadie demolished the ancient cloister to rebuild new sacristies.