Poitiers Cathedral
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Saint-Pierre de Poitiers Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Poitiers, in the Vienne department and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is the seat of the archdiocese of Poitiers. In addition to its title of archiepiscopal church, it has had the rank of minor basilica since March 1, 1912. Less well known than the Notre-Dame-la-Grande church, this immense stone vessel is nevertheless the largest religious building in the city and a landmark visible from afar in the urban landscape.
Built on the initiative of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II Plantagenêt from 1160, consecrated in 1379, it is in the Angevin Gothic style (use of curved vaults on a square plan) and is similar to the hall churches by its division into three vessels of almost equal height. The façade, flanked by two unfinished towers, borrows elements from the stylistic grammar of northern France.