Saint-Lazare Cathedral in Autun, France.

© Thomas Martin--Creuzot/Shutterstock

Cathédrale St-Lazare

Top choice in Burgundy


Originally Romanesque, this cathedral was built in the 12th century to house the sacred relics of St Lazarus. Over the main doorway, the famous Romanesque tympanum shows the Last Judgment surrounded by zodiac signs, carved in the 1130s by Gislebertus, whose name is inscribed below Jesus' right foot. Ornamental capitals by Gislebertus and his school, described in a multilingual handout, adorn the columns of the nave; several especially exquisite capitals are displayed at eye level upstairs in the chapter room.

Later additions include the 15th- to 16th-century bell tower over the transept and the 19th-century towers over the entrance.


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