Lausanne Cathedral 
The Cathédrale Notre-Dame towers over the rooftops of Lausanne. See
our Lausanne Cathedral Photo Gallery for over 100 more pictures.
South side of Lausanne Cathedral, with ongoing restoration works.
View of Lausanne Cathedral from the Pont Bessieres.
The tower from which the nightwatchman still makes his hourly
announcement (left) and the splendid Montfalcon Portal.
The gorgeous Gothic nave.
View of the nave looking east.
The High Altar at Christmastime.
Detail of rose window.
Medieval paint at the start of the ambulatory.
Apse ceiling in the east end.
Characters in the choir.
One of the most beautiful Gothic structures in Europe, Lausanne Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame) stands 150m (500 ft.) above Lake Geneva in the chic hillside city of Lausanne.
History
Construction on the cathedral began in 1175 and it was consecrated in 1275 by Pope Gregory X.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Catholic pilgrims flocked to the cathedral to kneel in front of the Golden Virgin, a reputedly miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary who gave her name to the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Lausanne.
Lausanne was one of many medieval cities to institute a nightwatch to prevent the all-too-common threat of devastating fires. Every night from 10pm to 2am, nightwatchmen stationed on the wall surrounding the town would call out to each other, ensuring that there were no fires and that no enemy was approaching.
The cathedral nightwatch was the most important. Every night, the watchman walks up the 153 stairs to the top of the tower. Every hour, he calls out to the four directions: C'est le guet; il a sonné l'heure ("This is the nightwatch; the hour has struck").
Lausanne is the only city in Europe to continue this tradition to this day. Nowadays, the reassuring sound of the nightwatchman's voice startles sweethearts sitting on the benches around the cathedral and drunken students stumbling home from the surrounding bars.
In 1536, the combined forces of the Reformation and Bernese conquest stripped Lausanne Cathedral of its screens, altars, statues and paintings. The Golden Virgin was melted into coins. Its treasure, a unique collection of liturgical vestments and tapestries, was taken over to Bern, where it is still preserved in a museum.
The architect-restorer Eugène Viollet-le-Duc began a restoration of the cathedral in the 19th century — and it is still going on!
What to See
See our Lausanne Cathedral Photo Gallery for a virtual tour of this beautiful Gothic cathedral.
Lausanne Cathedral is generally considered Switzerland's finest Gothic building, on par with the greatest of French Gothic architecture.
It is topped with elegantly proportioned towers, turrets and spires that stretch into the sky; the south facade is studded with a giant Gothic rose window; and flrying buttresses encircle the exterior.
The doors and facade of the cathedral are luxuriously ornamented with carved sculptures and bas-reliefs. Entrance is through the sculptured west portal, known as the Montfalcon Portal after a 16th-century bishop. Biblical figures, saints, bishops and whimsical characters like monkeys march around the monumental doorway.
The interior Great Porch, an unusual lofty open arcade with two tiers of columns, recalls English cathedrals like Lincoln and Canterbury. The cathedral's main architect, Jean de Cotereel, is suspected of being Norman or part English himself. There are frescoes on the vaults and a few large sculptures preserved in here.
From here, a squarish vestibule leads into the broad Great Bay, which was once (until 1504) an open thoroughfare that connected the Rue Cite-Devant with the Rue St-Etienne under a vaulted gallery and large arches.
In true Gothic form, the glorious and lofty interior draws your eyes upward to the high vaults. It is relatively austere in its decorations thanks to the Reformation, but there are some notable exceptions of surviving medieval art.
The impressive Painted Portal on the south wall of the nave dates from 1215-30; its exterior statues are the weathered originals.
Also in the south wall is the glorious Rose Window, which has survived from the 13th century. Only the central piece is not original. The rose was a popular medieval representation of the universe—Lausanne's huge rose contain the four seasons and elements, the twelve months and signs of the zodiac together with the winds and the four rivers of paradise.
In the south transept, look for faded medieval paint adorning the pillars. The choir is elevated above the nave and contains a simple stone altar, the exceptionally beautiful 13th-century choir stalls, and the tomb of Otto of Grandson, a celebrated medieval knight.
More old tombs are in the atmospheric ambulatory that runs around the choir and in the crypt beneath the choir. You can climb the 225 steps to the observation deck of one of the towers for fine views of the city and Lake Geneva.
Quick Facts
| Names: | Cathédrale Notre-Dame; Lausanne Cathedral; Cathédrale de Lausanne |
| Type of site: | Cathedral |
| Faith: | Protestant (originally Roman Catholic) |
| Date: | Built 1175-1275 |
| Architecture: | Gothic |
| Location: | Place de la Cathédrale, Lausanne |
| Bus: | 7 or 16 |
| Phone: | 021/316-71-61 |
| Hours: | Apr-Sept: Mon-Fri 8am-6:30pm, Sat 8:30am-6pm, Sun 2-7pm; Oct-Mar: Mon-Fri 7:30am-6pm, Sat 8:30am-5pm, Sun 2-5:30pm. Visits not permitted Sun morning during services. |
| Cost: | Admission cathedral, free; tower: 2F |
Map
Location map and satellite view of Lausanne Cathedral. Using the buttons on the left, zoom in for a closer look or zoom out to get your bearings. Click and drag the map to move around. For a larger view, see our Lausanne Map or get our free Google Earth download.
Sources
- Personal visit (December 2006).
- The Rough Guide to Switzerland
- Frommer's Switzerland
- The Cathedral of Lausanne - AskOxford
