St. Etienne

Oblong tower, (Gothic portion on Romanesque foundation), seen from the north elevation; The cathedral of St Etienne was begun in 1077. The 11th-century building was replaced at the beginning of the 13th, but the cloister and monastic buildings, attested to in 1120, survived only to be vandalized in 1794 and then dismantled from 1812 to 1817. Musée des Augustins has 22 capitals thought to come from St Etienne. [Grove] The irregular west front exists because the cathedral consists of two incomplete churches, the first dating from the early 13th century which includes the rose window from 1230; and the other begun in about 1272, on a new plan and a different axis, which was later abandoned, although by 1445 a triforium had been added to the choir and a Flamboyant west portal had been inserted. It is off-center because the architect took care to save the baptismal chapel north of the entrance. An oblong tower, composed of a Gothic portion on Romanesque foundations, and capped by a 16th century gable belfry, completed the west façade. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 5/18/2011