France: The Cathedral Saint Étienne de Metz

The Cathédrale Saint Étienne de Metz (also known as Metz Cathedral) is a Gothic, Catholic cathedral in the city of Metz, capital of Lorraine, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Metz and the seat of the Bishop of Metz.

The cathedral is sometime nicknamed the Good Lord's lantern (French: la lanterne du Bon Dieu) as it possesses the largest expanses of stained glass windows in the world with 6,500 m2 (70,000 sq ft).
The stained glass windows, the largest expanses of stained glass in the world, were made by the master craftsmen Hermann von Münster in the fourteenth century, and Valentin Bousch in the sixteenth. In the twentieth century the artist Marc Chagall created three stained glass windows for the cathedral between 1958 and 1968. Roger Bissière and Jacques Villon provided designs for further windows, including the complete chapel of the Holy Sacrament.

Its nave with 41.41 meters high, is one of the highest in France only overtopped by Beauvais Cathedral and Amiens Cathedral, and is the 10th highest nave in the world.

The cathedral has a long history.
About 1220, the building campaign in Gothic style began. It was not completed until about 1520. The new cathedral was consecrated on 11 April 1552.
For more information see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz_Cat...