Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Clermont-Ferrand, commonly known as Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral, is a Gothic cathedral and French national monument located in the town of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne. It is the seat of the Archbishops of Clermont .It is built entirely in black lava stone, which makes it highly distinctive, and visible from a great distance. Its twin spires are 108 metres tall, and tower above the town's rooftops.HistoryIn the 5th century, bishop Namatius laid the foundations of the city's first cathedral, allowing the Christian community to leave its ghetto, the "vicus christianorum". He dedicated the building to Saints Vitalis and Agricola, whose relics he brought from Bologna. It was 43 metres long and on a basilica plan, as is known by the account of Gregory of Tours. It was ornamented in marble, with a nave, two parallel aisles, a transept and 70 columns. It was destroyed in 760 by Pepin the Short who, repenting of this act, gave a large sum to bishop Haddebert to finance his reconstruction work, which lasted from 764 to 768. This second structure was again destroyed, this time by the Normans, in 915.